[MudCrab]

The benefits of trees are growing. We already know they boost home value by gussying up curb appeal. They serve as beautiful water filters, too, reducing flooding and keeping runoff out of precious water supplies. But it's clear their benefits stretch much farther, though, as evidenced by a new study from the U.S. Forest Service that provides an intimate look into the apparent connection between trees and human health. The takeaway: When trees aren't doing well, neither are we. http://www.rodale.com/trees-and-human-health

The author:

The scientists studied 1,296 U.S. counties in 15 states over a period of 18 years and estimated that 15,000 additional heart disease deaths and 6,000 more deaths occurred in areas where emerald ash borers had taken hold and wiped out ash trees. The findings even held true when researchers considered income, race, and education, other factors that can affect lifespan.

“Tree planting is always a utopian enterprise, it seems to me, a wager on a future the planter doesn't necessarily expect to witness.” ― Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education

We must tend to the trees. Remember Joyce Kilmer: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/trees/

For a happier heart, visit a tree today.

I love trees. Sadly, people are not planting them. We have been increasingly losing old growth trees through hurricanes, superstorms, tornadoes and wind storms. PLEASE PLANT MORE TREES! We need them to stem global warming. We need their shade. We need the erosion resistance they provide. Animals like birds and squirrels need them. The fruit they provide feeds us. The nuts they provide us feed animals and us. Please plant trees.