Human landscapes bolstering allergies
The common ragweed Ambrosia is one of the many allergens affecting over 50 million Americans.
Photo: Pollinator Dave
How we’ve shaped the places we live has given rise to the epidemic rise of allergies in the U.S.
Gregg Mitman is a professor of the history of science at the University of Wisconsin. He’s author of ‘Breathing Space, How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes.’
Today, over 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, and ragweed is a famliar alergen. Mittman said ragweed flourished during the dustbowl of the 1930s, because disturbed soils create conditions ripe for it. Cities such as New York formed crews of the unemployed back then to root out ragweed.
Gregg Mitman: And then in the 1940s, the herbicide 2,4 D came along. And people thought that they could just deal with allergies by spraying all of this ragweed with this herbicide that would kill it. And there was this while notion of a “war on ragweed.” Of course, it didn’t work.
Mitman said today’s rising CO2 levels help ragweed thrive.
Gregg Mitman: We now can find ragweed in Europe. It’s spread to China. And as CO2 levels rise, it’s estimated that pollen production of ragweed will double by the end of this century.
Mitman added that improvements in public health and land use are the best way in the long run to deal with allergic disease.
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Breathing Space – How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
Our thanks to:
Greg Mitman
Williman Coleman Professor of History of Science
Professor of Medical History, Science, and Technology Studies
University of Wisconsin, Madison
