"Craggers" Cross The Altlantic - But Not By Plane

Page from the UK gov's official CO2 calculator, used by many CRAGgers

In the UK the idea of joining together in small civic groups called CRAGs (Carbon Rationing Action Groups) to work on keeping personal carbon emissions in check has gone beyond the underground stage to bubble up to public - and media - consciousness. At carbonrationing.org hundreds of Brits have registered their groups' efforts to first to try accurately measure, then reduce their CO2 footprint, and many groups have passed their first anniversary - the general goal being around 4.5 tons of CO2 emissions.

Now the idea has crossed over to this side of the pond (as well as all the way over the continent) with CRAG groups formed first in Maryland, then in Georgia, and most recently in Portland, Oregon. The US' groups goals are more modest (around 10 percent below US average per capita emissions), but as in the UK, one of the most difficult areas for reduction revolves around air travel (the Georgia group isn't yet dealing with flight miles in its footprint calculations). And the Portland group, led by blogger Alison Wiley, has decided that "rationing" needed to be changed to "reduction" in order not to awaken any Yankee fears of the "R" word. Via ::International Herald Tribune (BOG)