My energy consumption is fairly high, as I run the heat to be about 75 (at least) in the house, and take long showers. Yet, it is suggested that you can save up to 5% on your energy bill for turning the heat down a single degree.

Transportation is a major challenge as well. Considering I have a 55 minute commute each day and travel via plane at least once a month, my transportation costs to the environment are significant.

The main ways I plan to decrease this is to bundle up and turn down the thermostat 2 degrees, as well as take shorter showers, turn off the lights when I leave a room, and as lights go out, replace with eco-friendly bulbs. I can't change the length of my commute for now, but I plan to limit travel by plane to once a month maximum, and always flying coach.

Challenge: Only book flights on coach for the next year. Limit showers to once per day at 9 minutes each, and turn down the thermostat 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer.

Note--This could save you hundreds of dollars a year, depending on current habits. According to my habits (already flying coach, 15 minute showers daily, and 75 degrees in winter), it will save me over 35 hours of shower time per year, $50 of expenses for showering, over 5,000 gallons of water, $98 a year for heat/air conditioning, and 2,000 lbs of CO2 emissions for heat/air.

Check out this Energy Calculator or this Carbon Calculator.