Tuesday, May 30, 2006

"Leaves of three, let them be. Leaves of four, eat some more."

From an article in today's Yahoo News:

Study: Global Warming Boosts Poison Ivy

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...

"The fertilization effect of rising CO2 on poison ivy...and the shift toward a more allergenic form of urushiol have important implications for the future health of both humans and forests," the study concludes.

That's funny. All along I thought it was Harley who boosted Poison Ivy:
Harley & Ivy #1 panel


Still, if global warming makes Ivy stronger, you know that that means:

Ra's Al Ghul versus Poison Ivy smackdown 12-issue crossover series!
Ra's ALWAYS fights with his shirt off.



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