Bigger, faster, more toxic: Poison ivy is thriving
Poison ivy seems to be booming, and researchers think climate change could be to blame. As carbon dioxide levels increase and temperatures warm, this toxic vine is not only getting bigger and growing faster, but the plant's oil, which causes allergic reactions in about 80% of the population, is becoming more plentiful and increasingly potent.
The Common · WBUR
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (mgln.ai) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Poison ivy seems to be booming, and researchers think climate change could be to blame. As carbon dioxide levels increase and temperatures warm, this toxic vine is not only getting bigger and growing faster, but the plant's oil, which causes allergic reactions in about 80% of the population, is becoming more plentiful and increasingly potent.
Today, WBUR Senior Health and Science Reporter Gabrielle Emanuel joins The Common to discuss the troubling tie between human caused climate change and the rise of poison ivy.
Gabrielle's story: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/22/bigger-earlier-and-itchier-why-poison-ivy-loves-climate-change
Take Gabrielle's poison ivy quiz: https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/22/massachusetts-new-england-poison-ivy-quiz
Greater Boston’s weekly podcast where news and culture meet.