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The west coast sees rising levels of ozone because of emissions from fast-developing Asian countries while the southeast sees increasing ozone from uncontrolled growth of the invasive species kudzu Thirty percent of the ozone- one of the primary components of photochemical smog found in the skies above the western United States during the spring- comes from coal-fired factories in East Asia (primarily China and India). (1) In about one week, winds carry ozone formed by emissions from cars, factories, and power plants in Asia to the US west coast, where it can add to locally generated pollution, worsening smog in...

<p>One of the oldest distilleries in the country is warning of what some observers are calling a “whiskey apocalypse.”</p> <p>“Despite the increase in distillation over the past few years,” says Buffalo Trace, “bourbon demand still outpaces supply.”</p> <p>The apocalypse is looming, explains Esquire, because whiskey has become trendy overnight.</p>

BLACKVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Kudzu — the "plant that ate the South" — has finally met a pest that's just as voracious. Trouble is, the so-called "kudzu bug" is also fond of another East Asian transplant that we happen to like, and that is big money for American farmers. Soybeans. "When this insect is feeding on kudzu, it's beneficial," Clemson University entomologist Jeremy Greene says as he stands in a field swarming with the brown, pea-sized critters. "When it's feeding on soybeans, it's a pest." Like kudzu, which was introduced to the South from Japan in the late 19th century...

Many Christians believe Jesus can be found anywhere. In southern Lenoir County, he may be found on a utility pole. The pole, about a mile south of Kinston, has attracted attention of some area residents. Some say the kudzu-covered post bears a striking resemblance to Jesus’ crucifixion. The pole, which is the only one nearby covered in “the vine that ate the South,” is at the northwest corner of Tyree Road and U.S. 258 S., in the Jackson Heights neighborhood. Kent Hardison, who runs Ma’s Hotdog House less than a half mile from the pareidolia, rides by the Christ-resembling post...

It's everywhere in the South. The green, winding vines of kudzu line highways, climb trees and fill backyards. It can be downright aggravating if you want to get rid of it. Except if you're a sheep or a goat. "They'll eat just about everything," Brian Cash, of Decatur, told the AJC. As the owner of Eweniversally Green, Cash makes a living helping customers fight off kudzu, ivy and other weeds. His employees? About 100 four-legged friends. "Primarily sheep and a few well-behaved goats," Cash, 30, said. Unwanted greenery gets chomped away quickly when Cash brings his animals by. The sheep...

An invasive kudzu-eating bug that swept across Georgia last year has now been detected in Alabama. Though you might be tempted to celebrate the arrival of a bug that eats The Vine That Ate the South, this kudzu bug stinks. Both literally and figuratively. When temperatures drop, the pea-sized bugs -- also known as the lablab bug or the globular stink bug -- invades homes in hordes. When threatened or crushed, they emit a foul odor. University of Georgia entomology Professor Wayne A. Gardner said he's found them 30 stories high, coating the window sills of Atlanta condo high rises,...

Kudzu—an invasive vine infamous for choking much of the southern U.S.—may end up being a lifeline for alcoholics, a new rat study shows. Native to Asia, kudzu has long been used as a treatment for addiction by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. Accidentally introduced to the U.S. in the late 1800s, the fast-growing plant has smothered many native plants throughout the South More than a decade's worth of studies have shown that extracts of kudzu can successfully reduce cravings and consumption of alcohol in both animals and humans. Now, researchers are exploring two ways of turning the plant into a...

More than 1,700 incoming University of Dayton students are required to read “War on Error: Real Stories of American Muslims” before they arrive on campus Aug. 22 for first-year orientation.

The Egyptian born "Muslim Brotherhood" has tentacles in 70 countries and is growing in The United States. This influential gang of cultist thugs is a secret Islamic Society with ties to terrorism and operates from the suburbs of Chicago, Detroit and Boston to recruit members. The group champions martyrdom and jihad and has provided the philosophical underpinnings for Muslim militants worldwide, and creates havens for Muslims in the U.S. Their strategy has been dawah or Islamic renewal and outreach. College students, Black U.S. military personnel and prison inmates are specifically targeted for indoctrination. (Islamic entities created the Muslim Chaplain corp...

Could an annoying plant hold the key to reducing our dependence on foreign oil? A Cleveland, Tennessee man who knows how to make ethanol out of kudzu may soon bring his refining process to market. This time next year, the gas you fill-up with in Chattanooga may be cheaper than other parts of the country. Tom Monahan with Agro*Gas says Chattanooga will be number one and then it will spread out from there. In the basement of a Cleveland, Tennessee home, Doug Mizell's experiment in energy appears to be taking off. He's found a way to turn kudzu into fuel....

Cartoonist Doug Marlette Dies in Car Accident By Dave Astor Published: July 10, 2007 2:23 PM ET NEW YORK Doug Marlette, who won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1988, died this morning in a single-car accident near Holly Springs in northwest Mississippi. He was 57. Marlette was with the Tulsa (Okla.) World at the time of his death. Prior to joining that paper in 2006, he worked for the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, Newsday of Melville, N.Y., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer. His editorial cartoons were syndicated by Tribune Media Services, which also distributed Marlette's "Kudzu"...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Summer is settling onto Missionary Ridge overlooking this southeast Tennessee city. Swallows glide on the warm breeze rustling the hackberry trees, kudzu vines sprout along the hillside and the goats are back at work. Chattanooga’s goats have become unofficial city mascots since the Public Works Department decided last year to let them roam a city-owned section of the ridge to nibble the kudzu, the fast-growing vine that throttles the Southern landscape. The Missionary Ridge goats and the project’s tragicomic turns have created headlines, inspired a folk ballad and invoked more than their share of goat-themed chuckles. “Usually,...

The bird got it right

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Neighborhood dogs attacked goats used by the city to graze on fast-growing kudzu, killing two and critically injuring another, officials said. "Two goats were killed, and we took one to a vet," said Teresa Grainger, director of the city's animal services. "We impounded three dogs and found the owners through a license tag." Two nearby residents were cited for having potentially dangerous dogs. A resident reported that the dogs were attacking the goats on Tuesday afternoon. The goats were contracted in September from Maurice Beavers of Lakesite to graze on the invasive species that is growing...

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Chattanooga city officials say they plan to use a herd of goats as a more environmentally friendly way of curbing the invasive weed kudzu. Maurice Beavers, who owns a goat farm in Lakesite, will provide the city with 30 to 50 goats for about $1,800 a month to eat the kudzu starting in September, said Public Works Deputy Administrator Lee Norris. "Goats like kudzu. The only way you can kill kudzu is eat it back to where the root comes from," said Norris, adding that the goats are an environmentally friendly way to deal with the...

Study: Herb Helps Curb Binge Drinking By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer Tue May 17, 8:25 PM ET BOSTON - A group of 20-something drinkers seemed to lose the urge to binge-drink when they took pills made from kudzu, that ubiquitous vine that blankets the South, researchers reported. The finding, described as groundbreaking by one expert, might one day lead to a way to attack the binge-drinking problem. Researcher Scott Lukas, with Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, had no trouble finding volunteers for the study, which required them to hang out in an "apartment," complete with television, recliner and fridge stocked with...

BOSTON -- Imagine getting to drink free beer and watch TV -- all in the name of science. Dr. Scott Lukas says he didn't have any trouble finding volunteers for his research project on a Chinese herb and alcohol. He set up a makeshift apartment in a lab at McLean Hospital in a Boston suburb. He outfitted his research pad with a TV, recliner and refrigerator stocked with beer. Lukas then recruited 14 men and women in their 20s, all heavy drinkers. They drank brewskis and watched the tube while researchers monitored their alcohol consumption. Lukas said those who also...

Kudzu, the unruly vine that sprawls across seven million acres in the South and Atlantic Coast, is now in season. Popularly known as the "vine that ate the South," kudzu's grip on regional culture is tenacious as the vine. Throughout the Southeast, radio stations, festivals, streets, and even a comic strip bear its name. Nevertheless, kudzu remains the bane of many gardeners and environmentalists. As kudzu spreads over plants and trees, the thick leaves block the sunlight, killing what lies beneath. Kudzu the destroyer is immortalized in James Dickey's ode to the "green, mindless, unkillable ghosts." In the poem, cows,...

<p>WALNUT HILL, Fla. (AP) - Cogon grass, a fast-growing Asian weed that initially hitchhiked to America as a packing material, is becoming a worse plant scourge than the infamous kudzu vine in many parts of the South.</p> <p>It kills pine seedlings, is a hot-burning fire hazard, squeezes out native plants and ruins habitats for threatened species such as the gopher tortoise and indigo snake. Cogon is even more aggressive and harder to get rid of than the ubiquitous kudzu.</p>