March 18th: National & International Days, Celebrations and Observances

Getting greener isn't rocket science. Clear labels on bins - paper here, glass there - make recycling a breeze at home. Your water meter tells hidden stories: check the reading, skip the taps for two hours, then peek again. Nothing beats connecting with neighbors (those oatmeal cookies you baked might inspire a recycling buddy next door).

• Our local biodiesel folks need more than just good wishes - they need customers.
• Most people actually want to recycle right. Skip the lecture though - just mention how you figured out what goes where.
• Those old phones and dead batteries? They deserve better than the trash bin. Set aside a few minutes to sort them properly.
• Yesterday I spotted a cardinal where someone cleared out all that garbage behind the park - funny how nature bounces back.
• Oh, and medications go to approved collectors, not down the drain or in the bin.

March 18 wrote itself into scientific history through space discovery and maritime disaster.

• W.H. Pickering altered astronomy's path at Harvard College Observatory in 1899. His camera captured what telescopes had missed - Phoebe, the ninth moon of Saturn. No one had found a moon by photograph before.
• In the depths of the Space Race, 1965 brought a Soviet triumph. Alexei Leonov drifted from Voskhod 2's airlock into the void, 475 kilometers up. His suit ballooned in the vacuum, nearly trapping him outside. Quick thinking saved him - he bled air from the suit, squeezed back in, and lived to tell about those twelve heart-stopping minutes.
• A darker moment unfolded off England's coast in 1967. The Torrey Canyon struck rocks near Cornwall, spewing crude oil across the waters. The spill ravaged 120 miles of English shoreline and pushed 50 miles into French territory. All told, 120,000 tons of oil escaped. Britain and France's scramble to contain the damage pushed both nations to draft tougher shipping laws and coastal protections.

Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) made a simple observation that changed everything. Watching farmers extract oil from their crops, he imagined new kinds of engines. His work laid the foundation for biodiesel, though he vanished mysteriously at sea before seeing his full impact.

Fred Shuttlesworth's home three separate times. Each attack strengthened his resolve. Working alongside others, he built the Southern Christian Leadership Conference into a force for change. His impact reached from civil rights into environmental justice. Birmingham travelers now pass through the airport bearing his name.

What started with $12,000 and a local ice cream shop grew beyond Ben Cohen's early plans. His company, Ben & Jerry's, broke the standard business model. By measuring environmental effects alongside financial goals, Cohen showed that profit and responsibility mix well.

The science of aging holds Dame Linda Partridge's attention at University College London. Her work in the Institute of Healthy Ageing labs reveals fresh insights about human lifespan - each discovery building on the last.

Few pilots attempt what Dick Smith achieved in his helicopter, crossing both poles alone. The Australian businessman later founded Australian Geographic. These days, his energy flows toward wildlife conservation, speaking out about population growth that nature can sustain.