by Llewellyn
How to get involved
Visit www.epa.gov and click the “Info Where You Live” map to find out if your area’s water quality report is available online. You can also click on the “Drinking Water” link on the left side of the page for more information. Learn which minerals are in your water and their effect on the human body.
There are many relief organizations that need your help to improve water quality and access in developing parts of the world. Try www.water.org, www.h20africa.org, or thewaterproject.org.
The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears, or the sea.
~Isak Dinesn
august 22–september 22
virgo
It’s a common misconception that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican independence day. That day is actually September 16, which is part of the reason Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15. September 15 is the national independence day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Chile’s independence day is September 18. The commemoration started as a week in 1968 under President Johnson. President Reagan expanded the celebration to a month in 1988. Hispanic Heritage Month is meant to celebrate and honor those Americans with ancestry in Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. These peoples played a major role in America’s founding and early history, particularly in western and southern states. Today, there are many famous Hispanic Americans in government, entertainment, and the business world.
It will come as no surprise to many that Spanish is America’s second most common language, behind English. The Census Bureau estimated in 2009 that there were 45 million Hispanics in the United States, with 35.5 million people speaking Spanish in the home. Spanish is also the most common second language in America.
How to get involved
Visit www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov for lots more information about this month of celebration. For biographies, trivia, and videos, visit www.biography.com/hispanic-heritage. If you have young ones in your life, Scholastic has a great page of information and activities at http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic. The page includes history, famous Latinos, games, and even a section called My Heritage for children of Hispanic descent.
Leaves and stems weave in hymns of light
in the last glow of September sunset and dusk.
~“Weeds” H. Arnett
september 22–october 22
libra
We now come to our most famous monthly commemoration: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). Every year in October, the color pink appears everywhere from coffee shops to the fields of the National Football League, raising awareness of the second most prevalent cancer in US females. Each year about 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed in the United States, and about 40,000 women will die from the disease. The numbers of cases have risen dramatically in recent
decades, but thanks to research advances and early detection methods, the overall mortality rate has actually dropped.
NBCAM began in 1985 as a week-long dedication to educating people about breast cancer. Today the organization is a partnership of health and government agencies and public service groups that try to promote awareness of the disease, share information and support, and provide screening access. Many people’s awareness of breast cancer causes is based on charity and fund-raising efforts. Among these are the National Race for the Cure, the Breast Cancer 2 Day, the Breast Cancer 3 Day For the Cure, the Ride to Empower, Global Illumination (lighting buildings in pink), Pink Comic Strips, and various Pink Days.
How to get involved
Early detection is the best way to fight breast cancer, so ask a friend to be your screening buddy. Pick a day and email or call each other each month to remind yourselves to do your self breast exam. Even if you are young, self exams are a great way to establish a baseline, so you’ll notice even minor changes down the road. Visit www.nbcam.org for information on patient support, breast cancer news, disease facts, events, and their great section on “How to Help.”
Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eye.
It is not something physical.
~Lauren Bacall
october 22–november 21
scorpio
As we enter winter our minds turn to the coming holidays. Feasting is a big part of both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and many of us put on a few “holiday pounds” before the end of the year. Perhaps that is why November is Good Nutrition Month. Begun in 1973 with the theme “Invest in Yourself—Buy Nutrition,” this is a month to reevaluate your food choices and make changes for the better. Nutrition education is making great strides in America, thanks in part to movies like Food, Inc. and SuperSize Me. But the fact remains that we must educate ourselves on good eating practices in order to maintain a healthy weight and strong body and mind.
The holidays are also a crucial time for food banks and hunger-
relief charities. According to Feeding America, one in six Americans doesn’t have access to enough healthy food. That’s 49 million Americans, including 14 million children. Part of the nutrition/hunger problem is that the cheapest foods are often the least nutritious for our bodies. When you have only a few dollars to spend, getting an entire meal for $2 is much more attractive than buying a small amount of fresh produce or lean meat. Keep nutrition in mind as you donate to your local hunger-relief charities this season.
How to get involved
Visit www.nutrition.gov or www.mypyramid.gov for helpful nutrition guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture. Here you can find your personal recommendations for grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, and oil consumption, based on your age and sex. Print a pyramid this month and write in your suggested servings (be sure to look up what counts as a serving first). Then dedicate one week to meeting those goals every day and see how you feel. You might be surprised what just one week of good nutrition will do!
Choose food that is as beautiful as you wish to be yourself.
~Victoria Moran
november 21–december 21
sagittarius
If October is a month of pink ribbons, December is a month of red ribbons. Red ribbons are meant to commemorate AIDS awareness, and December is AIDS Awareness Month in America. World AIDS Day was set as December 1 in 1987 by two officers at the Global Programme on Aids (part of the World Health Organization). Why December 1? The officials felt that the post-election, pre-Christmas weeks were a slow news time—their day would likely get more media coverage than at another time of year. Today World AIDS Day and AIDS Awareness Month are time to raise awareness about the pandemic of AIDS/HIV and to remember those who have lost their lives to the virus.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control in 1981. Since that time, more than 25 million people have lost their lives. HIV is sexually transmitted or blood transmitted. It is a virus that weakens the body’s defenses and leaves it vulnerable to other sicknesses, which then cause death. The AIDS pandemic supposedly began in Africa, and that is where the disease still hits hardest, claiming ¾ of AIDS deaths. A person can live with the virus for years before becoming ill enough to be diagnosed with full-blown AIDS; then their survival time is about nine months.
How to get involved
There is no known cure for AIDS, and misinformation about transmission abounds. Visit www.aids.gov and take time to educate yourself about the disease and the latest news. The website also includes resources for patients and event ideas, as well as suggestions for individual action. Above all, be safe about sex and all forms of bodily fluid contact.
The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little.
~William Jennings Bryan
Moon Vo
id-of-Course Data for 2011
Moon Void-of-Course Data for 2012
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