Allergies worse? Climate change could be culprit, study finds

USA Today , Saturday, April 17, 2010
Correspondent :
Earlier this month, Shane Nantz kicks up a cloud of pollen as he mows the front yard of his west Charlotte, N.C., home. From Florida to Texas to Colorado, 2010 is shaping up to be a monster of an allergy season. Experts say it's the worst they've seen in years.

CAPTIONBy Todd Sumlin, APAllergies will worsen and trigger more asthma attacks if climate changes continues, warns a new report by the National Wildlife Federation.

A honey bee collects pollen from a flowering tree Monday in Cincinnati.

CAPTIONBy Al Behrman, APWith spring arriving 10 to 14 days earlier than 20 years ago, pollination is starting sooner, according to the report, which shows projected changes in habitat. Tree pollen is the most common trigger for spring hay fever.

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"Climate change could allow highly allergenic trees like oaks and hickories to start replacing pines, spruces and firs that generally don't cause allergies, exposing many more people to springtime allergy triggers," says lead author Amanda Staudt, a National Wildlife Federation climate scientist, in a statement.

The report identifies nine states as hot spots for large increases in allergenic tree pollen if global warming goes unabated: Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia.

It says seven more states are at risk for moderate increases in such pollen: Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Fall allergies, primarily caused by ragweed, are also getting worse, because ragweed grows faster, produces more pollen per

plant, and has higher allergenic content under increased carbon

dioxide levels, according to the report.

It says global warming is especially bad news for asthmatics whose attacks are triggered by allergens or in urban areas, by ozone pollution.

"We can't afford for allergies and asthma to get worse," says Mike Tringale of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Already, he says they affect about 50 million Americans and cost nearly $27 billion in medical costs and nearly $6 billion in lost productivity and earnings.

 
SOURCE : http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/04/allergies-worse-climate-change-is-the-culprit-study-finds-/1
 


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