Another ray of international recognition will soon shine upon Pittsburgh. Even as the city basks in the sunny attention of the G-20 summit, civic and corporate leaders said Thursday that Pittsburgh will host World Environment Day for North America on June 5.

The U.N. General Assembly established World Environment Day in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, considered a watershed event. Then as now, the goal is to further environmental action and attention.

It did not escape the attention of those present for last week's announcement at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh that the same truths that made the city a good, if surprising, choice for the G-20 also apply to its selection as a host for World Environment Day: The place that re-invented its economy after the collapse of the steel industry also reclaimed its environment -- the sooty city became green.

Those who won this honor for the city deserve its thanks, especially Bayer Corp., which spearheaded the effort. This region has talked for years about how to shed its outdated "Smoky City" reputation -- and World Environment Day 2010, with events that won't be limited to a single day, presents a fresh opportunity.

But it will be successful only to the extent that the city helps. Despite being a U.N. event, the celebration is not as well known as it might be. A show of hands, please -- who was the sponsor this year? This year's North American host was Omaha, Neb., and if you knew that you are doing better than most.

For the moment, Pittsburgh should be proud, again, of the compliment.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.