Making the Most of the Snow - Fort Worth, TX

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Tarrant County Chapter asked supporters recently to help raise $10,000 during a Pink Snow Woman Challenge before the creation melted.

"We were blown away by the response," stated a Feb. 17 press release. "She still hasn't melted and we're well over $12,000."

If you didn't get to participate, you still have time and can watch the progress at http://www.komentarrant.org/komen-race-for-the-cure/snow-status/pink-snow-woman-status-1.html.

The organization offers the following tips to help a friend diagnosed with breast cancer:

Visit her at home or in the hospital with flowers, gifts, books, videos.

Offer to help with pets, bills, plants, or any other concerns at her home.

Run errands or do shopping when she is undergoing treatment.

Prepare meals that can be frozen and warmed up later.

Offer your help in learning more about her disease.

Rally other friends to support her when you cannot.

Offer to keep a web journal or publish a weekly or monthly email to friends and family.

Be there for her, listen, hug, as often as she will let you.

Find local retailers for the products she will need.

Tell her a joke.

For more information on the Fort Worth, TX chapter, see komentarrant.org.

In unrelated health news, EarthJustice is urging all supporters to take action online regarding coal ash being hazardous to our health.

"We have waited far too long for comprehensive protections against the toxic coal ash threat," according to a mass email. "People living near coal ash dumps often tell similar stories of illness, poisoned drinking water supplies, and environmental destruction."

To send an online letter, access http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/coalash_0110 before Feb. 28.

In other environmental news, Our Public Lands is asking citizens to sign an online petition to stop new mining near the Grand Canyon. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently ordered a temporary ban on uranium mining in a one-million acre area surrounding the Grand Canyon.

"The temporary ban of new uranium mining around the Grand Canyon area provides an important opportunity to protect this land," reads a statement from the organization. "The public lands around the Grand Canyon are a national treasure."

The press release states that we can halt new mining development and conserve this area for decades to come and that "These beautiful public lands include the Kaibab National Forest."

To sign the petition, go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/743766017.