Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The Beacon Article

"Carbon Dioxide Levels Affect Seasonal Allergies" is an article in The Beacon about how an increase in carbon dioxide levels affects allergies an asthma.  Ragweed is one particular allergen that is substantially affected by CO2 levels.  An experiment conducted by a Harvard student found that doubling the atmospheric CO2 in a greenhouse caused ragweed to grow 10% more and produce 61% more pollen.  An experiment conducted by scientist Lewis Ziska found that ragweed grown in Inner Harbor grew to be 3 to 5 times larger than the rural ragweed and produced 10% more pollen.  This is because there are more vehicles and people in Inner Harbor causing there to be more CO2 produced.