I was 15 when I first started learning about climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. It was an exciting time, albeit slightly frightening. If my generation was the one to make our world a better place, we sure had our work cut out for us. At the same time, however, I couldn't help but feel inspired by the groundwork that was already laid. Young leaders like Severn Cullis-Suzuki were taking a stand in front of international audiences and important international policy was taking shape to guide the way. Or so I thought.

Some 12-odd years later it is 2011 and the Kyoto Protocol is about to see its end. Reading news headlines proclaiming the fall of Kyoto, it's difficult not to feel a pang of nostalgia for the hope that accompanied its initial development. With our current Environment Minister avoiding any future Kyoto-type agreements like the plague, what is a young eco-minded person to do? Where do the answers lie in addressing this very real issue? 

According North Cowichan at least, the answers are in our hands and in our own backyards. The Federal government may have decided that we no longer have to set an example, or even do our part as a country to address climate change, but local government  is taking a different approach. 

In keeping with its obligations as a signatory to the BC Climate Action Plan, North Cowichan has begun a community consultation process, including workshops and an online forum to collect ideas for addressing climate change. These ideas will help inform a local Climate Action and Energy Plan, in addition to "tak[ing] inventory of our community’s existing energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while identifying future trends based on population, land-use, technology and other factors."

Kudos to our local leaders and concerned citizens for picking up the slack where our federal leaders have left us behind. 

Such initiatives reawaken the hopeful 15 year-old in me, who believes we must be the change we wish to see in the world and trusts that in doing so, you and I can make a difference.