I took Wired magazine's Carbon Quiz today. According to the calculator, my carbon load is 21,198 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, thereby earning me a rank of "fair-weather ecofriend." (The Wired articles on The Resurrection of Al Gore and Rise of the Neo-Greens are also worthwhile reading.)

A big surprise was how little a difference recycling makes: Being a militant recycler only reduced my carbon impact a measly 1 percent! The thing that really killed me was air travel, which added almost 9,000 pounds.

I'm going to take the site's advice and atone for my sins by donating $100 to $200 for carbon credits. A bit of Googling uncovered this Oregon Environmental Council web site which has some suggested charities. The other thing I'm going to do is to switch over to one of the renewable power options available from the power company.

Small steps, yes... but it's a start!