Posted on 05/30/2006 1:03:10 PM PDT by billorites
Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy.
The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday.
And a CO2-driven vine also produces more of its rash-causing chemical, urushiol, conclude experiments conducted in a forest at Duke University where scientists increased carbon-dioxide levels to those expected in 2050.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, a chemical that traps heat similar to the way a greenhouse does, that is considered a major contributor to global warming. Greenhouse gases have been steadily increasing in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.
Poison ivy is common in woods around the country, making it a bane of hikers, campers, fighters of forest fires, even backyard gardeners. Its itchy, sometimes blistering rash is one of the most widely reported ailments to poison-control centers, with more than 350,000 reported cases a year.
Compared to poison ivy grown in usual atmospheric conditions, those exposed to the extra-high carbon dioxide grew about three times larger, and produced more allergenic form of urushiol, scientists from Duke and Harvard University reported.
Their study appears in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The fertilization effect of rising CO2 on poison ivy ... and the shift toward a more allergenic form of urushiol have important implications for the future health of both humans and forests," the study concludes, reports AP.
Happens all the time.................yeah, that's the ticket!......
Someone I work with said the poison ivy will be worse than ever this year. Bet this is where he got the "news." Little does he know the scenario was fabricated by some scientists monkeying around with the environment under the assumption the outside world will operate the same way 44 years from now, along with some "journalists" with a hankering for advocacy.
I've got some stuff that will kill pioison Ivy roght to the root. I get it from Southern states and this stuff will knock out Poison Ivy in a week. The birds eat the seeds and crap them oput allover, but I have cleaned up mu place of it and just went down to the neighbors and sprayed hers. Have no fear a spray is here. Poison Ivy will not take over the world , no matter what the greenies say.
I have a small word of advice for those cutting poison Ivy and using gloves. remove the gloves and wash your hands before you pee against the side of a tree.
BTTT
More insane attempts to tie every mality on the planet to climate change.
'big nasty furry-looking things'
You eliminated the Gore Klan? Congrats!
Nah, if I had done that, I would have worn more than goggles. I figure any splatter from the Gore klan would have a similar impact to getting sprayed by blowback like there was in Aliens.
Try stinging nettle. Works great on my neighbor.
Fine. I'll hold my breath while I trim the hedge. |
Take some of the "long range" wasp and Bee killer and blast the sentries.
You paint quite the vivid mental picture.
I told my wife that I was surprised that anyone would actually report poison ivy. We were in the Blue Ridge last weekend and there's no more or less up there than any time in the last 10 years we've been going up there.
I told a friend to throw some gas on the large hornets nest on his garage. Now I at no time told that stupid basket to throw a match on that gas.
Duh. ALL living plant matter grows faster and bigger with more CO2 in the atmosphere.
Of course, it never occurred to the scientists to TEACH people how to avoid poison ivy - like we learned in Girl Scouts.
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