YOUR ONE MILE: The Freshwater Land Trust (FWLT) is hosting a series of public meetings to seek comments and suggestions regarding Our One Mile, a comprehensive greenway master plan for Jefferson County. The Our One Mile initiative is focused on identifying trails and greenways throughout the county and making it easier for local residents to walk and bike.

The Preserve in Hoover—a community rife with classic American architecture, walking trails, waterfalls and open space—is the ideal combination of a traditional neighborhood and a forward-thinking nature haven.

AFTER THE ELECTION: Conservation Alabama, the state’s only full-time environmental lobby, has suggested a few issues for the new legislature and governor of Alabama to address in the coming year. Topping their list is the renewal of Forever Wild, the state’s land protection program. Forever Wild was created by a constitutional amendment in 1992 and has purchased lands for public recreation, nature preserves and parks throughout the state. Unfortunately, the program is set to expire in 2012, and Conservation Alabama is looking to policy makers to extend it.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) will hold a dedication ceremony for the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center (AABC), a new research facility in Marion, on Friday, October 29.

According to agronomist Charles Mitchell, in The Encyclopedia of Alabama, “One hundred years ago almost four million acres [in Alabama] were planted to cotton, and today only 1.3 million acres are devoted to all agricultural crops.” Alabama’s contemporary landscape is marked as much or more by pastures and pine trees than by plowed fields, and many “producers” (ag-speak for farmers) work only part-time, according to Mitchell.

According to Chevron.com, their campaign “describes the actions the company takes in producing energy responsibly and in supporting the communities where it operates.” But mere hours before Chevron formally announced their campaign on Monday, the Yes Men released their own satirical version of the campaign under a very believable Chevron banner.

NOT JUST PRETTY PICTURES: Birmingham photographer Beth Maynor Young will offer a free presentation next week based on Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers, a book of photographs and text she created in 2009 with John C. Hall. Young will appear Thursday, October 21, at 7 p.m., at the Lester Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 105 Fourth Ave.

TAKE THE GREEN WAY: The non-profit Freshwater Land Trust (FLT) is developing a greenway master plan for Jefferson County. According to the FLT web site, the Our One Mile project is part of an effort to lower the county’s obesity rate, which is over 30 percent. The FLT seeks to identify a network of over 100 miles of trails, greenways and blueways in the Birmingham area.

COMMISSION FOR THE COAST: Alabama Governor Bob Riley on Monday signed an executive order creating a Coastal Recovery Commission that will examine the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and recommend ways to protect Alabama’s coast.

THE HITS KEEP COMING: It hasn’t been a great year for British Petroleum (BP). There’s been some good news, of course. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the federal government’s point man on the Gulf oil spill, said over the weekend that a permanent cement plug had finally sealed BP’s broken well.