Do People Live Longer among Trees? | The Institute for Creation Research

Do People Live Longer among Trees?

Could living near trees possibly affect human health? Increasingly, studies indicate that trees can improve human health. Evolution doesn't expect this, but biblically speaking, trees and people have close ties.

New research included steps to demonstrate that living longer was not linked to living among trees, but instead linked to more sensible factors "like income, race, and education," according to the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service based in Portland.1 But the researchers found that cardiovascular health clearly declined in people from very different ethnic, income, and educational backgrounds in the absence of trees.

Geoffrey Donovan of the U.S. Forest Service was the lead author in the study, which appeared in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.2 The study included data from 15 states spanning 18 years.

For example, during the last decade, the emerald ash borer beetle parasitized and killed untold numbers of 22 species of North American ash trees across the eastern and Midwestern United States. After that happened, 15,000 additional people in those areas died of cardiovascular disease.

What is the real cause of these phenomena? The researchers don't know, but the data fit with the strange idea that broken trees may lead to broken hearts.

In the evolutionary mindset, what survival advantage would people have from just seeing strong trees? And how can evolution explain people's health deteriorating when trees wither?

In contrast to evolutionary origins myths, trees play a surprisingly strong role in actual human history. The book of Genesis uses the word "tree" 28 times, for example. Its fourth instance occurs in Genesis 2:9: "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food." So, right from the beginning, trees were identified as sources of food and of beauty.3

The Bible also says about the believer, "His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon."4 Clearly, God made trees for the purpose of bringing pleasure to people.5 Are researchers uncovering evidence of this God-made link between man and trees?

References

  1. Tree and human health may be linked. Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service press release, January 16, 2013.
  2. Donovan, G. et al. 2013. The Relationship Between Trees and Human Health. Journal of Preventative Medicine. 44 (2):139-145.
  3. This biblical link deepens when one considers that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, "whom they slew and hanged on a tree" (Acts 10:39), is mankind's only hope of eternal pleasure. "In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11).
  4. Hosea 14:6.
  5. Of course, the right response to this provision of pleasure is to praise God.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on January 28, 2013.

The Latest
NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...