Fruit growers who depend on irrigation are likely to feel serious impacts from global warming, scientists say. The average temperature during the first 20 years of this century is expected to be 2°F higher than the average for the last 30 years of the last century, and 3°F higher by 2040, according to a study entitled “Impacts of Climate Change on Washington’s Economy” compiled for the Washington State Department of Ecology. The warmer temperatures are attributed to an increase in the so-called greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere (such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) that allow […]