More problems
Add this one to the year’s lengthening list of natural disasters – a bumper crop of poison ivy. It’s flourishing this summer, which, The Wall Street Journal says, “is shaping up to be one of its most virulent and unpredictable seasons.” Already complaints to agricultural extension agents are up as are sales of products intended to prevent or alleviate the raw and aggravatingly itchy rashes that come from even the barest contact with the plant.
The plants themselves are getting bigger, spreading faster, showing up in places they’ve never previously been and becoming more toxic.
This is fast becoming a problem for the public in general but especially for those who are allergic to the pesky plant.
The increase in the number of cases is explained anecdotally by people spending more time in their yards – perhaps because of the economy – gardening, landscaping and just plain hanging out.
Given the cutbacks in municipal services, it’s a safe bet that sending crews to hack it out of the public parks is far down the list of priorities.
Short term, the explanation for this year’s profusion of poison ivy is that the harsh winter killed off many competing but less hardy plants.
Long term, it seems that poison ivy responds positively to global warming, especially the increase in carbon dioxide, which produces bigger and more irritating plants.
The environmentalists might have an easier time selling caps on greenhouse gas emissions if they sold it as a means of striking back at poison ivy.
The average homeowner has considerably more experience of poison ivy than glaciers and polar bears.
The active – “active” in the sense of poisonous – ingredient in poison ivy is an irritatingly persistent oil called urushiol that remains toxic even after the plant is dead and even if the plant is burned can inflame and irritate the lungs if breathed as smoke.
No matter the reason for the sudden surge, there’s no doubt that its increased presence will cause problems for many people.
Of course, if some scientist should find that poison ivy and its similarly thriving cousins, poison oak and poison sumac, make a cheap and plentiful substitute for foreign oil, all the itching and discomfort will be forgiven. Until then, watch where you step.
Scripps Howard News Service