Back in grade 7, our Elementary science teacher got us working on a website project called Kids for Kyoto.

We created a website, where students were assigned to research and design individual webpages on different topics related to global warming and climate change.

This was long before the days of Squarespace, and I had no idea what WordPress was, we were literally building this from scratch in HTML.

I learned a ton not only about web development and design, but communications, got interviewed for the local newspaper, got featured by the school board, and ultimately raised some awareness, at least for our graduating class.

The Kyoto Protocol committed countries to reduce their annual CO2 emissions to below 1990 levels, while providing financial supports to developing nations to encourage them to follow suit eventually.

Canada signed the accord in 1998 and ratified it in 2002, but was not on track to meet its legally binding targets.

Long after I graduated elementary and high school, Canada actually withdrew from the Kyoto accord in 2011. This was done in a year before the agreement expired, saving the government around $14 billion in penalties since we weren’t on track, unfortunately.

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on.”
— Henry David Thoreau

Today, there are more natural disasters than ever before, there are mass migrations due to climate change, and while there have been other efforts, we’re really starting to see the consequences around the world.

What are we doing in 2022?

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
— Jane Goodall

This article is also published on Medium. Future Thought Leaders is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of rising Energy & Sustainability writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.