How global warming helps and hurts Vt. agriculture

[jpak]

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/NEWS01/706240396/1002/NEWS01

Dr. Alan K. Betts, a scholar of meteorology and theoretical physics, can speak with scientific precision about the impact of global warming on Vermont. But it's simpler for him to tell the story about picking brussels sprouts from his Pittsford garden this past winter.

When the 61-year-old atmospheric researcher moved to the state three decades ago, he wouldn't leave any fruit or vegetable outside during the winter. Instead, he harvested everything before frost took a bite each fall.

"It used to be a challenge for me to have brussels sprouts to eat for Thanksgiving," Betts recalls. "But the last few winters, I've had brussels sprouts for Christmas."

Then one spring-like day this past January, he reached down into his garden and pulled up a handful of ready-to-boil brussels sprouts. For Betts, it's just one example how global warming is cropping up in the state.

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