Warming, Increased CO2 Pump Up Poison Ivy & Its Itchiness - MSNBC

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON - 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’s 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.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13046200/

[CrownPrinceBandar]

1. As if we needed yet another reason to get CO2 under control...

For many years as a field archeologist, PI was the bane of my life.

[NNadir]

2. I have had a hard time fighting the stuff off on my property.

It's coming on with a vengence.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I have it growing in flower beds this year and I don't know how

I'm going to get rid of it. If I use weedkiller, I will probably kill some things I don't want killed, and I can't weed it out by hand without getting it all over me (and I'm very susceptible to poison ivy).

[NNadir]

4. Here's what I do.

I keep some of my property in a semi-wild state, and this is mostly where the poison ivy grows. I sever any that is climbing trees from the roots with a scissor, wearing gloves, and bury any running along the ground under mulch - I use grass clippings. Burying the poison ivy usually helps keep it in check. It also keeps me from carrying essential nutrients contained in the grass clippings off my property.

The active ingredient in poison ivy are a set of chemicals known as urushiols. Chemically these compounds are very much like soaps, they have what we call a hydrophobic region (a diphenol in the case of urushiol) and a hydrophobic region, a long chain of unsaturated straight chain molecule that is similar to stearic acid used in soap.

It follows that if one acts very promptly in the case of accidental contamination, one can reduce the impact by washing with lots of soap and water. As a practical matter, I wash my gloves before I take them off when I work with poison ivy. I go heavy on the soap and I rinse the soap thoroughly.

I will, in an absolutely worst case, use a little Roundup for intractable situations. I generally avoid the use of agricultural chemicals, but I suspect that Roundup is not the worst agrichemical in the world. It is a derivate of the amino acid alanine, and probably has a relatively short environmental half life and it works quite well when used sparingly.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I use a little Roundup on the poison ivy in most places that it comes

up in the yard, but this patch happens to be in a rose bush and some daylilies along a chain link fence. I've even thought about pouring a little Roundup into a disposable container and using a small paintbrush to put it directly on the poison ivy leaves without touching the other plants. Has anyone tried this?

[NNadir]

6. It sounds like an experiment worth doing. It's not too problematic

from the sound of it.

[XemaSab]

7. I've heard rumors that on extremely warm days

the oils can volatilize and affect sensitive individuals who never even touch the plant.

Good times. :D

[Massacure]

8. People who burn poison ivy can breath in the vapors.

When that happens it is just merely inconvenient either...

[XemaSab]

9. I know a guy who was told by a colleague

that if you eat a little bit it gives you an immunity.

He said it gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "ring of fire."

[dcfirefighter]

10. Roundup, Tecnu

Roundup has a very short half-life, painting it on will work, esp. if no rain comes.

Tecnu is a wash designed for poison ivy. I can't think of why it seems to work better than regular soap, but it does. A hearty recommendation from me, anyway.

My goodness though, there's nothing quite as pleasant as the relief from poison ivy due to running the affected part under very hot water.

[kestrel91316]

11. Poison ivy and oak are two of the few things I'm NOT allergic to!

[One_Life_To_Give]

12. It's not my gardening skills

bringing me another bumper crop of poison ivy. I'm crushed!

[LiberalEsto]

13. Let's send a few bushels to the College Rethugs

I saw an article saying they are planning beach parties to deny Global Warming.

How I'd love to see them scratching each other half to death at their beach parties as a result of super-itchy poison ivy!

:evilgrin: