On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:44:03 -0400, HK wrote:



Poison ivy may grow more virulent
The Hartford Courant

Poison ivy of the future may be a lot worse. Researchers have monitored
the growth of poison ivy vines in today's atmospheric conditions and in
conditions with elevated carbon dioxide concentrations, which global
warming is expected to produce by midcentury. Not only did the elevated
carbon dioxide boost poison ivy growth, but it also increased the most
toxic form of urushiol, the plant chemical that causes the itchy rash in
humans. The findings should interest a lot of people because a separate
U.S. Forest Service study found that up to 85 percent of humans are
susceptible to poison ivy.


....and if you aren't susceptible now, you may become so in the future. My
'susceptibility' didn't start until I was over 60 years old!