July 2nd: National & International Days, Celebrations and Observances

Looking for ways to help out on July 2nd?

• Local beaches need volunteers during Clean Beaches Week - even an hour makes a real difference.
• Sports writers rarely get enough credit, so share their best articles or drop them a quick note of thanks.
• Want to support American jobs? Buy products made here in the USA.
• While you're in a productive mood, those unused items taking up space could really help local charities.
• Round up some friends for stargazing on World UFO Day.
• Between spotting satellites and searching for E.T., you can spark conversations about keeping our outdoor spaces pristine.
• And since it's I Forgot Day, take five minutes to jot down those important dates you've been meaning to remember.

Amelia Earhart's voice broke through static near Howland Island in 1937. Her final transmission - "We must be on you, but cannot see you... gas is running low" - left searchers with only questions. She and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over Pacific waters, their fate still debated decades later.

French military forces gathered at Moruroa Atoll one summer morning in 1966. Their nuclear device "Aldébaran" unleashed 28 kilotons of force. That first test opened three decades of nuclear trials, scarring local ecosystems across the Pacific.

A different kind of history took flight in 2002. Pilot Steve Fossett guided his balloon "Bud Light Spirit of Freedom" through world skies for 14 straight days. After 20,000 miles, Australian soil finally welcomed his landing gear.

Up in the cold reaches past Neptune, 2013 brought fresh findings. The Hubble Space Telescope revealed two tiny moons circling Pluto. Scientists named these small satellites Kerberos and Styx - one 12 kilometers wide, the other just 7.

July 2nd links five people who shaped different parts of modern life.

• For seven decades, students filled Hans Bethe's physics classes at Cornell. Star energy was his passion - work that earned him the 1967 Nobel Prize. His path took an unexpected turn after the Manhattan Project, when he began speaking against nuclear weapons.
• Ralph Hancock's New York's skyline still shows what he achieved with the Rockefeller Center gardens. He solved tough engineering problems, creating waterproofing methods that green roof designers use today. His success in New York opened doors in London, where he built the stunning Gardens of the Nations at Derry & Toms.
• The 1940s brought Medgar Evers home from war to face segregation in Mississippi. As the state's first NAACP field secretary, he tracked the gaps between white and Black community facilities. His detailed records still help environmental justice work today.
• The British energy landscape changed shape in the years under Secretary Chris Huhne. He launched the Green Investment Bank, funding new clean power across the country. Soon, wind turbines rose offshore while solar panels spread through towns and cities.
• When police raided Stonewall, Sylvia Rivera stood firm against discrimination. She saw beyond that moment to help homeless LGBTQ+ youth, creating STAR as their safe space. Until her final days in 2002, she worked to secure basic rights for her community.