AccuWeather’s Tropical Expert Joe Bastardi was on the O’Reilly Factor last night in a face off with Bill Nye the Science Guy. Nye kept trying to confront Bastardi with charts challenging his data, and Bastardi answered with more charts! Pretty funny. Nye looked uncomfortable.
Bastardi made news last fall after appearing on the O’Reilly Factor to discuss climate change after Greenpeace backed out of an appearance on the TV show. The following day Bastardi posted a video blog showing a surfaced U.S. submarine at the North Pole in March of 1959 sitting in thawed ocean water and the crew on the deck of the sub. This caused an uproar and the opportunity to reappear on the O’Reilly factor with Nye.
Here’s Bastardi’s v-blog post from last September (shows the sub) and his appearance with Bill Nye on the O’Reilly Factor last night. There is also this article which lists some of the other Bastardi videos and info on climate change.
I for one love Bastardi’s challenge and trying to keep the debate going. The global warming theorists are showing a heavy hand in trying to suppress debate. I attended a class recently where a respected anthropology professor called those who don’t accept the theory, “Nuts.” He also praised Al Gore for popularizing the debate. This after he said he had “no political agenda.” Come on!
© 2010, Scott Branyan
Much of this weekend, I’ve spent learning about Arkansas trees. I attended a class by Al Einert, professor emeritus of horticulture at the U of A, on “Folklore of Ozark Trees and Plants.”
One of the things I learned was the variety of suggestions as to how the dogwood tree got its name. One I’ve never heard is that the wood is used in clocks where the “keep” is called the “dog.” Also, one of the first trees to bloom in the spring is the serviceberry tree. This tree is know by numerous names in different regions of the country, e.g. “Shadblow” in New England, and “Juneberry” in Iowa.
The Arkansas Forestry Commission is working on yet another revision of Dwight Moore’s, Trees of Arkansas. This one supposedly will have photos.
© 2010, Scott Branyan
I am studying geology this weekend and am finally starting to get a grasp on the formation stages of rivers in the Ozarks. Over the various periods of formation of the Ozarks, the early river courses changed. The rivers across northern Arkansas probably all had a north to south drainage, but changes in elevation and erosion rates in the plateaus altered some to drain in nearly all points of the compass. Thus, we have a few rivers that nearly circumnavigate.
© 2010, Scott Branyan
My second entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture was published in December on Beaver Dam and Lake. An article on Norfork Dam and Lake is undergoing edit currently. I plan to have one more entry published after that one as well.
© 2010, Scott Branyan
My first entry, “Little Rock District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture has been published. The online encyclopedia is an excellent resource for Arkansas history and has entries by accomplished historians as well as freelance history writers. I have another entry which is undergoing intial edit by the encyclopedia staff, and a third which I am in the process of writing. They should be published this winter or next spring.
© 2009, Scott Branyan
As long as the Morning News’ website maintains them, I will try to regularly post the links to my columns. They are usually published in the paper on the second and fourth Fridays. Here is today’s column.
© 2007, Scott Branyan