Got an itch to do something about global warming? You may soon.
Recent studies suggest that rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are promoting leafier, more prolific, faster-growing -- and itchier -- poison ivy than ever before. And that could be killing off more trees in the forest, and causing more itches for more of us, than ever before. ...
Last year, a six-year experiment at Duke University that involved piping CO2 levels predicted for the middle of this century into a forest test bed yielded 149 percent faster-growing poison ivy. The leafy toxin grew four times faster than trees exposed to the higher carbon dioxide level -- so fast that scientists think the woody vine could alter the composition of forests around the globe by choking off trees. Worst of all, this poison ivy of the future was suffused with far more potent urushiol, the oily substance that makes four out of five of us itch.
Now, there's a rash of bad news.
