These days, every month gets more than its fair share of names slapped onto it. For example, this April, you could choose to celebrate Pets are Wonderful Month, Community Service Month, National Soy Foods Month, National Soft Pretzel Month or Fresh Florida Tomato Month.
Still, applying an important title to a month every now and then can draw attention to important issues. Black History Month and Women's History Month, for example, allow us all a chance to reflect on our history and future as a diverse nation, and to consider some of the narratives we often overlook.
That's why we're glad the celebration of a Sustainability Month is getting some attention from students and lawmakers around the globe.
While no month has been proclaimed the national standard, plenty of schools, cities and states are taking things in their own proverbial hands, like right here on campus.
Sustainability is an issue of pressing importance, and while global warming has nudged it toward the spotlight, it still huddles dangerously far from the public eye.
Global warming aside, sustainability has to do with reducing humanity's harmful impact on the planet. Whether you think the ice caps are melting tomorrow or even if you think that global warming is just an alarmist hoax, it's hard to argue that we aren't using a lot more resources than the planet can handle.
Fortunately, sustainability has recently manifested itself everywhere from the supermarket to the Supreme Court.
By the supermarket, we mean San Francisco's recent ban on plastic bags at the checkout line. Other cities around the globe have gone even further when forcing stores to act in an environmentally conscious way, slapping a fine on anyone who doesn't provide three bins for customers at trash cans - one for food items, one for recyclables, and one for complete garbage.
As for the part we do agree on, we're excited to see the Supreme Court laying down the law on the Environmental Protection Agency, who has been tiptoeing around issues of sustainability by saying they don't have the authority to force companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
The Supreme Court said otherwise, and hopefully Congress will follow with legislation that actually makes the EPA take action - and hopefully we'll all follow by thinking of ways we can help the environment ourselves.
