Those are good steps.
I did the CFLs years ago when they were more expensive but the savings were substantial.
I put another layer of insulation in my attic which helped a little.
Surely everyone wraps the water heater with an insulation blanket these days?
I traded my old refrigerator and an upright freezer for a single energy efficient fridge/freezer and that helped.
Last time I painted, I used about 30 tubes of caulk and sealing those cracks also helped.
My "big ticket" item was replacing my heat/air system with a geothermal unit. Expensive but great savings!
I hope to one day get a solar array and a rechargeable auto so as to become entirely energy independent.

For saving water there is a shower head that I love. It delivers an almost stinging stream, so much better than the old pouring out of a bucket one that wasted water.
The toilets can now be retrofitted with a sealed system plastic pressure tank that flushes great but uses only a gallon of water. The pressure builds up when the sealed tank fills up. Works great.
It's been a lot of fun so far finding ways to save energy and water and saving money at the same time.

One area where I'm stumped is the use of "energy vampires" like remote control items, always-on electronics and such. I LIKE those toys!

Another area we seldom consider but is also important energy-wise is the foods we eat. Have they been transported halfway around the world to our table? It matters. Start a garden. Buy local produce and eat healthier.

Let's all keep chipping away. Be smarter and save money. Who knows, we may even save the world!

To my right wing redneck friends I use several subtle approaches like, "I'm driving a small, energy efficient efficient old car to work (didn't cost very much!)and saving my pickup truck for other things." Also, "I don't like giving my money to those Arabs every time I fill up the gas tank, hurts my feelings!" They do the correct thing even if it is for different reasons than I do it.
It works!

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

I've been thinking lately that we should talk less about "global warming" and "climate change" and more about "actual hard dollar savings" and "national security" by "reducing our dependence on foreign oil" that "funds terrorist harboring states."

If we can start conserving more while we transition to alternative energy sources and distribution schemes the net effect will also reduce carbon emissions as a byproduct and the "global warming is a myth" crowd will be none the wiser.

(We still need to do something about these coal plants, though. There is a design for a clean plant that was ready to start construction, but Bush nixed funding for it right after his State of the Union speech touting clean coal.)

One area where I'm stumped is the use of "energy vampires" like remote control items, always-on electronics and such. I LIKE those toys!

I have all my tv/dvd/receiver (and computer) units plugged up to a power strip. I just flip the switch and turn them all off when I go to bed at night. The only device I leave on is the cable box/dvr because it can take hours to reload the "guide" once you flip it off.

There's some irony in this: Water is so cheap it isn't much in terms of cost savings, but every little bit helps in a drought. Seems like revaluing the water supply might go a ways toward getting people to see things in terms of "hard dollar savings."
~m.

Alcoa had to build a huge extra pipeline down to Little River and I don't know how many hundreds of thousands that cost.

And Georgia's ready to battle with Tennessee over water. And the utilities are monopolies. So why don't water rates follow the rules of supply and demand? I can't figure out if we're just paying the additional costs of maintaining our flow through taxes to cover government subsidies, or whether we're just shoving our heads in the sand as we did over fossil fuels for so long.

When you have water restrictions as Blount County saw, and a rush to build infrastructure, it seems as if it's a matter of deferment. The recent drought has demonstrated how marginal the supply is. But the new Southeastern water wars show how tenuous things have gotten.

And really, if most folks water bills doubled, it wouldn't have near the impact fuel increases have caused. How long before water's fair market value reflects its costs?
~m.

Wow, thanks for the great stuff, gonzone. Especially on the geothermal. I'd love to have one. Are you in the local area? I've heard that the install requires extra expertise that many local HVAC contractors don't have. A co-worker did a GHP some years ago and it was a nightmare for him. Leaked antifreeze and unbalanced (would overheat, etc.).

I have two green tips I've been meaning to post somewhere. 1) I got a Kill-a-Watt meter that you can plug various loads around the house into and see what they're consuming, even when you think the loads are off. It's fun and informative. You can use it to figure what appliances to replace, put on power strips, etc. It's only about $20. There are other brands available too.

2) We were having trouble getting our clothes dry and were about ready to replace our dryer in desperation. I could see a good bit of the way into both side ends of the dryer vent and vacuum it partially if needed, but there never seemed to be much lint blockage. I decided as a last resort before a new dryer to buy one of these, which are also available at Lowe's.

In less than an hour I had extracted several large masses of lint from the vent sides. "Just a little" lint throughout the vent was collectively enough to prevent our dryer from working almost at all. It took hours to dry a typical washer load of clothes before. Now a full load is bone dry in under a half hour. Can't recommend this strongly enough. If you're having any doubt about whether you're drying clothes efficiently, clean the entire vent path with a suitable brush tool.

Always glad to help move someone towards a greener lifestyle. I'm in the local area and the only contractor is Smith and Associates for this. I can recommend them based on my personal experience. The technology has advanced so far in this area lately that it's stunning to learn. Doesn't use anti-freeze, too toxic.

Thanks for the dryer vent brush tip. I'm gonna do it. I once used my leaf blower on the vent from outside and had to profusely apologize to my better half for all the lint that ended up in the dryer! (but it worked!)

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

Forgot to ask, gonzone, but can you comment on your GSHP's loop? Vertical or horiz. and how much area did you need?

Thanks.

...would require about a half acre unobstructed...

Another obstacle I don't think we could overcome. Thanks again for the good info., though.