Increase in Allergy Caused By Women’s Lib? Thomas Leo Ogren
Recently my brother-in-law, a college professor, was seeing a
famous San Diego allergist, who I’ll not name. He tried to tell
the allergist all about my book, Allergy-Free Gardening. The
allergist dismissed it all as unimportant and then told him,
“You want to know why there’s so much allergy nowadays?” My
brother-in-law said that, yes, he certainly did want to know.
“Women’s Lib,” said the learned doctor. “Women used to stay home
where they belonged and they took care of the kids and kept
their houses neat and clean. Now, well, now they all have to
have jobs, just like the men, and who’s taking care of the
house? Nobody! That’s why there’s so much allergy now. Their
houses are filthy and covered with dust.” My brother-in-law
wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. I have an answer for
that doctor. An increase in house dust isn’t driving the allergy
rates sky-high. Not even close. What’s gone up is the amount of
pollen in our cities. In some areas, Tucson, Arizona, for
example, there is actually ten times more pollen in the air
there now than there was just thirty years ago! And I can
document that. It isn’t just Arizona either. In city after city,
north and south, all around the civilized world, everywhere that
modern, low-litter, litter-free, seedless, male landscaping has
become popular, pollen rates are up. Even though in many cities
there is now less total green matter than in the past, there is
still more pollen than ever. And more allergy, too. Not long ago
I was out in my own neighborhood, camera in hand, looking for
some choice high-allergy landscapes to photograph. I didn’t have
to go far. I was standing, carefully, on the public sidewalk,
taking a close-up shot of some Groundsel bush (Baccharis sp.)
used as a ground cover in this front yard. An older gentleman
came out of the house, looked at me and asked, “Now, what in the
world could be worth photographing in my yard?” “I’m an allergy
researcher, Sir,” I said. “Yeah?” he asked. “Some problem here?”
“This ground cover is all male,” I said. “All-male, and all of
it rather closely related to ragweed.” “Humm,” he said. “And
that big row of junipers you’ve got there,” I said, pointing to
the side of his yard, “looks like every one of them is a male,
too. That ash tree of yours, notice how it doesn’t have any
seeds?” “Yeah?” “It’s a male tree. Actually, your entire yard,
everything in it except that climbing rose bush on the front
porch, all of it could have been designed to cause allergies.
Anybody here have allergies?” “Sure,” he said, “my wife. She’s
got terrible allergies.” I looked at the yard full of male
ground cover, all of it in full bloom. “Well,” I said, “I’d be
willing to bet she’s having allergies right now.”
“Yep,” he said, “she certainly is.”
Now, I didn’t even bother to ask him if his wife kept their
house spotless and dust-free. It was a nice house, in an
expensive neighborhood, and somehow I seriously doubted, that
his wife’s allergies were being caused by Women’s Lib.
Tom Ogren is the author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten Speed
Press. http://www.allergyfree-gardening.com