Climate Changes Are Making Poison Ivy More Potent

[whopis01]

Source: Wall Street Journal

New research shows the rash-inducing plant appears to be growing faster and producing more potent oil compared with earlier decades. The reason? Rising ambient carbon-dioxide levels create ideal conditions for the plant, producing bigger leaves, faster growth, hardier plants and oil that's even more irritating.

The latest research, led by Dr. Ziska, studied poison ivy plants in Maryland under different levels of carbon-dioxide exposure. One group of plants was exposed to about 300 parts per million of carbon dioxide -- about the same level found in the atmosphere in the 1950s. Another group was exposed to 400 parts per million of CO2 -- about the same level in the atmosphere today.

After about eight months, leaf size, stem length and weight and oil content of the plants raised at current carbon-dioxide levels were, on average, 50% to 75% higher than the plants under the 1950s conditions, according to the study, expected to be published this year in the journal Weed Science. Not only did the higher CO2 level double the growth rate, but it made for hardier plants that recovered more quickly from the ravages of grazing animals.

The latest research follows a Duke University report last year that higher carbon-dioxide levels create a chemical change in poison ivy that results in a more potent form of urushiol, the oil that triggers an itchy rash in about 70% of people exposed to it. "It is more abundant and allergenic," says Jacqueline E. Mohan, who led the Duke study and is now assistant professor at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118281532052547766.html?mod=home_personal_journal_left

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Now if this isn't mother nature telling us to quit screwing around with her planet, I don't know what is.

[Virginia Dare]

1. Shit, I'm fighting a losing battle..

I thought it was just my imagination that the stuff seems to be impervious of late, and I'm extremely allergic to it. I guess I'll soon be donning hazmat suits to work out in the yard.

[whopis01]

2. Where I am poison ivy isn't a bad problem,

but other type of vines are getting far more invasive than I ever remember seeing in the past. Usually they die back considerably during the winter months, but this year was so warm that they didn't shrink back at all.

[Bobbieo]

3. Ended up with blood poisoning from poison ivy when I lived in MD

and that was a nasty mess - It sure doesn't grow and guess it won't in the SW desert.

[deadmessengers]

7. I'm seeing the exact opposite

I've been watching the kudzu growth here in Georgia, and this year it seems like it's not coming in as strong as usual. It's probably because of the drought that we're in, if I had to guess.

[Tempest]

10. Not yet anyway

But as temperatures increase your area will become more acceptable to poison ivy growth.

[deadmessengers]

5. Seems that way, doesn't it?

I get a bit of Poison Ivy in my backyard. Every year, I fill my sprayer with good old Roundup and go a-killing - my wife calls me a "herbicidal maniac". This year, though, I did my usual spray-a-thon, waited a week, and the poison ivy barely wilted. I bought some of the "heavy brush" Roundup, and that worked like a champ. I guess in 10 years I'll need some new chemical to keep it from invading.

[alfredo]

16. In early winter I cut the vines.

It doesn't kill it, but it keeps it small.

[Tesha]

22. Try Polonium-210, da?

> I guess in 10 years I'll need some new chemical to keep it from invading.

Try Polonium-210, da? ;)

Tesha

[Chemical Bill]

23. Try bleach instead...

I found it to work well, and you don't give any money to Monsanto. Bleach doesn't mess with your genes either.

Bill

[Virginia Dare]

25. Straight vinegar usually will do the trick too..

temporarily anyway...but at this point anything is temporary.

[Chemical Bill]

29. I got rid of a yard full of japanese knotweed...

using bleach. Forever! Well, at least until I moved two years later. Vinegar makes sense, and it is less harmful than bleach. I'll add that to the arsenal.

Bill

[deadmessengers]

30. I've tried that, and it doesn't work

I've tried the "alternative" herbicides. I've tried bleach, salt water, boiling water, vinegar, lemon juice - not one of them worked.

And, yeah, Roundup is made by Monsanto, but the fact is that the stuff does what it's supposed to do. I think the fact that it didn't work against my poison ivy this year was that I let it the ivy come in too long - the ground vines were starting to get woody. Anyway, I'd rather give a few bucks to Monsanto every year than have to give many hundreds of dollars to doctors, pharmacists and veterinarians when my family and pets get poisoned. It may not be ideologically pure to do that, but it's a sound and logical choice, both financial and in terms of personal suffering.

Oh, and as far as the genetic damage, I think you're referring to the study done in Colombia and Ecuador. That's a very different scenario, involving the repeated aerial spraying of many acres of land, near food plots. Although that study is worrisome (and as of yet unconfirmed by other studies) I'm talking about maybe a few dozen square feet, sprayed with a hand-held sprayer a couple of feet off the ground, and on the other side of the house (and about a hundred feet) from our veggie & herb garden. If there's a risk there, it's minimal at worst.

[Chemical Bill]

33. Sorry to hear it doesn't work for you.

I had the opposite experience with japanese knotweed. Some guy was spraying roundup, and it killed one of my cherry trees, but the knotweed kept coming back until I brought out the bleach. Ya never know....

Bill

[Chemical Bill]

35. I bleached some poison ivy two days ago.

I just checked on it this morning - dead as a doornail. Maybe you were using bleach that was too weak.

And there seems to be more information about roundup than the South American studies:

http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Roundup-Glyphosate-Factsheet-Cox.htm

Bill

[TheLeftyMom]

13. Hub and I are the same way

I'm starting to get used to my monthly round of steroids every summer. Sigh.

[Chemical Bill]

27. This may help...

Jewel weed is a plant that cures poison ivy rash overnight. I know if you're too allergic you just have to avoid the plant. If it's only a topical rash, rub the jewel weed, stalks especially, on your rash. The juice from jewel weed does the trick for me.

Bill

[Webster Green]

4. Our CA poison oak is thriving as well..

I got into it earlier this year and it got me pretty good.

[Auggie]

6. Just the tip of the iceberg, no doubt

Stay tuned for more great news...

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Time to stock up on the remedy, then n/t

[gentlegiant]

9. Oh...

It's not about the Drew Barrymore movie.

nevermind.

[whopis01]

17. No, fortunately this is just about global warming...

It would take much more than that to make her movie more potent...

[Occulus]

11. So ,what... as CO2 levels rise, plants grow better?

Isn't this, like, first-grade science?

[Nihil]

20. What's that telling you about the level of science knowledge in the general public?

Maybe they weren't listening to that part of their Bible study?

:shrug:

[Lisa]

12. as soon as scientists started getting into global warming impacts research ...

... back in the late 80s and early 90s, I remember that the industry apologists waved aside any concerns and were quick to claim that our food supply would benefit, because the crops would thrive on so much CO2!

So now it turns out that the plants that are thriving are NOT the ones they were counting on. How ironic.

[BreweryYardRat]

14. Yeesh. Feel sorry for folks who are really allergic to it.

It doesn't affect me much, thankfully, but that's really gonna suck for some people.

[guitar man]

15. damn, that sucks

on the bright side, maybe it's doing the same thing for the weed crop? :evilgrin:

[freethought]

18. This could be reeeaallly bad for some people

If I get exposed to poison ivy, I get the typical rash and itchiness. A good friend of mine, however, has a severe(were talking life-threatening) allergy to poison ivy. Some time ago he was doing yard work and he fell into a patch of the stuff wearing shorts and a tank top. It was a mad dash to the hospital after that. They kept him in the hospital for a few days. I remember him coming out. The areas on his skin that made direct contact almost looked like a sort of high degree burn. He healed up just fine but it was a close call.

[pitohui]

19. the thing is, you never get less allergic but non sensitives eventually get more allergic

i remember back in the day when i was a non reactor to poison ivy (some people are and, as far as i know, in theory, NO ONE reacts to poison ivy on their first exposure, your body has to learn to be allergic), however as an avid gardener and hiker i finally got the amt of exposure that triggers my limits and that blissful immunity is gone forever

the scary thing about poison ivy/poison oak is what it does to the lungs, a friend of mine almost died because he stupidly tried to burn some "trash" weeds, poison ivy among them

the stronger it gets, and the more people who burn their trash because of limitations on what we can put in the trash, the bigger the chance that the smoke from burning poison ivy will kill someone

bet in many cases they won't even know what hit 'em

[Vinca]

21. Oh great - the one thing I'm severely allergic to.

When I was 8 years old I swelled up so badly I was the spitting image of Broderick Crawford. On a positive note, I've found white vinegar works well to get rid of the plant. Spray it on during hot, sunny days for the best results.

[Chemical Bill]

24. White vinegar, thanks.

I'll try that. I'm always looking for things that get results without side effects.

Bill

[Virginia Dare]

26. It works, but get the high grade stuff..

the kind used for pickling and cleaning, it's a higher percentage of acidity.

[triguy46]

28. I can attest that the poison ivy on my farm...

is bigger, faster growing, more prolific than at any time in my 27 years out here. Its an ass kicker, and laughs when you mow it, giggles when you spray it with chemicals.

[donsu]

31. another Marylander here whose had huge bouts of poison ivy

itchy beyond belief

smoke from burning poison ivy is very poisonous too.

and now it is worse - wow!

[LiberalEsto]

34. Beware of cashew nuts & mangos

Poison ivy belongs to the same plant family as pistachios, cashew nuts, mangos, and ornamental smoke trees.

Years ago when we learned that my daughter had severe allergies to walnuts and cashews, the allergy doctor gave us a list of plants that were related to them. This meant teaching her to recognize and avoid poison ivy so she could go to Girl Scout camp, etc.

There's also such a thing as allergic load. If you're having a problem with one allergy (say dust, cats, ragweed) your other allergies can act up as well.

So if you're very allergic to poison ivy, it would make sense to avoid eating pistachios, cashews and mangos during a poison ivy bout to avoid overloading your immune system.

When my daughter, now 23, accidentally ate a piece of nut last year, she needed to take a huge amount of Benadryl, and had a rash for days. For months afterward, her immune system was out of whack, and she began reacting to things like eggplant and tomatos, that normally don't bother her. This wore off after 6 months, and she's back to normal.

[yasmina27]

32. Amazing...

As bad as my allergies are (life-threatening to peanuts, tree nuts, and MSG), I've never had poison ivy. My friends and I would trample all through the woods behind our houses every summer. They would come out covered with poison ivy, and I've never had so much as an itch!