On August 16, 2011, citizens called on elected officials to support healthy, clean water and air and real public transit. Many nonprofit organizations, including the LWVAL and LWVGB, joined together to bring the Sustain Our State (SOS) 1-2-3 GO! Rally to Linn Park in downtown Birmingham, AL. The event was held to inform and rally citizens to call for actionable, implementable (1) water, (2) energy and (3) transit policies and to make plans now to assure this sustainable future. Clean air and water and transit impact public health and jobs as well as the environment. The most heavily impacted are the poorest and the youngest in our communities - those who are our future. They are the most exposed to unhealthy air and water and least able get to education, jobs, health care and daily needs. Allied supporters were called to address environmental and intergenerational justice.
Citizens were informed about the issues and called on to take action by:

• Making signs with SOS/1-2-3 GO messages to carry and decorate a DART trolley on public display.
• Signing the League of Women Voters Clean Air Promise (see below)
• Contacting their elected state and federal officials to call for legislation and public policies that will assure a sustainable future for our state

• Michael Churchman, Executive Director, Alabama Environmental Council;
• Cindy Lowry, Executive Director, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Executive Director;
• Esmeralda Brown, United Methodist Women;
• Scott Douglas, Executive Director, Greater Birmingham Ministries;
• Rev. Anthony Johnson, Community Relations Director, Birmingham Metro Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People;
• Joyce Lanning, Environmental Chair, League of Women Voters of Alabama (LWVAL) and of Greater Birmingham (LWVGB); and
• Peter Behrman, Executive Director, Birmingham-Jefferson Public Transit Authority

I promise to protect America's children and families from dangerous air pollution.

Because toxics and pollutants such as mercury, smog, carbon, and soot, cause thousands of hospital visits, asthma attacks, and even deaths.

I will support clean air policies and other protections that scientists and public health experts have recommended to the EPA to safeguard our air quality.

See www.peoplenotpolluters.org.

The 1-2-3-GO action plans include:

• Alabama Water Agenda
• Clean Air/State Energy Plan
• Mobility – Real Public Transit

• Government Representatives at Your Fingertips (downloadable brochure)
• Take Action (LWVUS website) - national action alerts and a powerful search engine to find your national, state and local officials and representatives.
• Find Your Legislator (AL Legislature website) - a service of the Alabama Legislature. Type in your 9-digit zip code or by address to look up your senator and representative.

• Principles of the League of Women Voters
• Positions of the LWV of Alabama
• Positions of the LWV of the United States