OK, not directly. But as if we needed another reason why increased levels of carbon dioxide caused by global warming is generally bad, recent studies have shown that undesirable plants such as Poison Ivy love CO2. It makes them grow faster and bigger, more resilient to pesticides, and their irritant even stronger. Basically, more CO2 makes Poison Ivy into the cockroach of the plant world. I got a bad case of Poison Ivy a couple summers back and it was a major drag, so poison ivy sucks big time, and anything that makes it stronger is bad…very bad. (Alright, I know poison ivy is not harmful to most non-human animals and is an important part of the eco-system, blah blah blah).

But…wait a minute. Don’t all plants love CO2? Wouldn’t many plants thrive in a warmer climate with higher levels of CO2? Why just poison ivy? I did a quick search and came up with a lot of anti-global warming sites that said rising CO2 levels was cyclical and natural. (There’s something about the “Global Warming Is A Myth!” pushers that make me feel like they are trying to get me to join a cult, or buy a drug that will ultimately do nothing but cause explosive diarrhea, or a buy a pet that will destroy your life if you feed it after midnight).

But then I found an article on Yale Global Online about a study that global warming spurs asthma and allergies, since increased levels of CO2 seems to make invasive plants in particular, such as ragweed, even stronger.

So spread the word. Global warming will give you a disgusting rash – so let’s do our part to be more eco-friendly. Seriously, people. Nobody likes to be itchy.

Read more about global warming on nrdc.org >>