A study has come out saying that as CO2 levels rise one of the benefactors of our impact from global warming will be poison ivy.
Cross posted at MyDD.
Key findings:
With CO2 levels 200ppm higher (which are predicted for 2050) poison ivy will grow 150% faster and be more poisonous to humans.
They also say that all woody vines would have similar increases in growth.
Here is a report on the study: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/
2006/05/060530-warming.html
This means that my ongoing fight with English Ivy will only get harder and harder. English Ivy can grow by up to 3 inches per day! Kudzoo is even faster (something like up to 8 inches per day!) All these woody vines will outgrow the trees and we could end up with just a bunch of ivy covered hills. Currently I am in the process of clearing my yard of all these types of plants. My biggest problem (although not involved in the study) is bamboo! I have cut it all down and am in the process of digging up all the roots. This is a long and involved process, but I expect to win it by next year. I have been able to get all the English Ivy out of my yard.
I bring up this topic because I think that this is very connected with the average American. How many people are aware of the problem of invasive plants and how they effect the environment and their lives? Poison ivy is just another example of how global warming and climate change will effect all of us.
All the more reason to see "An Inconvenient Truth".
Climate Crisis Website