PROGRESS IN GREEN: There’s no better place to find a review of Alabama’s eco-year than the new 2010 Green Progress Report, published by the Green Resource Center for Alabama. The report highlights some of the steps taken last year to make Alabama a more environmentally friendly place.

If you spend much time walking or driving around the city of Birmingham, you have probably seen some of the recent additions to Birmingham’s graffiti collection.

THANK THE GODS FOR JANUARY: Yeah, they’re almost over, the detestable holidays. Thanksgiving’s long gone, except for the extra pounds on your ass. Christmas is over, even if lots of people still have decorations up.

CHRISTMAS CHEER? Ah, Christmas, a holiday wrapped so tight in nostalgia you almost choke to death. It’s a time to think about the great gifts you could buy if you were a better person and made more money.

GIVE ‘EM SUBPOENA POWER: Adam Snyder, executive director of environmental lobby Conservation Alabama, spoke to the state legislature last week regarding the link between environmental policy and state ethics reform.

Right now, at this very moment, you are surrounded by hidden treasure. No matter where you might be in Birmingham, in all likelihood there are a number of carefully concealed containers near you.

ONLY IN ALABAMA: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken another step to protect the habitat of the vermilion darter, a small, multi-colored fish found only in Alabama. The FWS has designated a little over 13 stream miles of the Turkey Creek watershed in or near Pinson in Jefferson County as critical habitat for the fish.

WE WANT OUR SHARE, BP: Alabama Senator Richard Shelby sent a letter to British Petroleum (BP) CEO Robert Dudley, on Monday, November 22, requesting that BP fund efforts to revitalize Alabama’s tourism and fisheries industries, according to a release from Shelby’s press office.

BAD NEWS, FOLKS: On the filth test, our city gets an A-plus. Or at least our air does. According to the American Lung Association’s 2010 “State of the Air” report, Birmingham ranks No. 7 on a list of the 10 dirtiest cities in America. We rank No. 5 for short-term particle pollution, right behind the smog cloud that is Los Angeles, and No.7 for year-round particle pollution.

MAKING THEIR CASE: Members of the Coalition of Alabama Students for the Environment (CASE) at the University of Alabama (UA) announced a drive to boycott UA services should the school allow some land it owns near Cordova to be leased for the proposed Shepherd Bend coal strip mine.