Greeninteractshere

You'll cut down on water and energy use.

If you have to commute on the freeway, here are some driving tips that will help you to be more fuel efficient.

Don't hit your brakes while driving uphill. It not only causes you to burn more fuel to get back up to speed, but the domino effect has caused others to come to a complete stop a half mile behind you.

Similarly, accelerating downhill is just as wasteful; you'll just rush up on the traffic up ahead and hit your brakes.

Rather than speed up to change lanes, ease back on the accelerator to let the car next to you go by first.

A half tank of gas weighs less than a full tank, so it's no surprise that you get better gas mileage while driving in the bottom half of your tank. Rather than topping off when you refuel, just take it to the half tank. You may have the inconvenience of having to refuel more frequently, but over a month's time, you'll notice more miles per gallon, and a lower overall fuel expense.

Richard Cortes
Web Producer, NBC.com

Go to GreenIsUniversal.com to find out how.

Plug TVs, computers, and cell phones into power strips you can turn off at night.

They're toxin-free and biodegradable.

A lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality for many people around the world and has serious health consequences. Globally, water scarcity already affects four out of every 10 people. The situation is getting worse due to population growth, urbanization and increased domestic and industrial water use.

The nation consumes about 402 billion gallons of water a year. The average North American consumes 170 gallons per day, more than seven times the per capita average in the rest of the world and nearly triple Europe’s level. Wow! That’s a lot of water!! While we consume more than we should, there are many people, globally, that face the challenge of getting adequate clean water, one of the most valuable resources essential to the environment and our lives.

Knowing this, I feel it is my responsibility to take action to save water! Here are a few things I do to save water at home (it also helps with reducing the water bill).

If you don't know what a hex code is, don't sweat it – there are plenty of other ways for you to go green online! There are tons of ways to be proactive about saving the environment conveniently located on the web, which means you don't have to leave the house to participate. (Added bonus: you're also reducing your carbon footprint by not driving anywhere…win/win!)

My Baby Tree - http://www.mybabytree.org
The Indonesian rain forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, thanks to factors such as the country's massive rubber and palm oil industries. According to the site, forest the size of 6 football fields is destroyed illegally. People and animals, both in Borneo and around the world, need these forests in order to thrive. For a small donation, you can pay for a new tree to be planted...but it doesn't end there! You get to watch your tree grow up right before your eyes (and from the comfort of that sofa you're probably still on…ahem!)

Give up my car? Are you serious?!
I always told myself, “if it ever becomes at least somewhat convenient to use the Metro train system here in Los Angeles to commute to work, I’ll definitely do it.” And when NBC.com moved offices to the Universal Studios lot right across the street from a Metro train station, it was time to put up or shut up. At first, I was a little intimidated by the prospect of “mass transit.” I live in California after all, and our cars are an extension of ourselves (yes, yes, a big part of the problem, I know). But after doing a little research and rounding up some spare change, it really wasn’t that difficult to “Go Metro” and “Go Green!”

When I told a friend of mine in Miami that I was working on the “Green Site” for NBC he mentioned that he had a few Green plans himself! He decided to educate his co-workers and provide them with some easy tips on how to ‘Be Green’ on Earth Day.

So, naturally I asked him to snap a few photos so I could share with the NBC community on what other people and companies are doing to broaden the awareness.

Here are a few pics of the tactics he used in and around his office in hopes of inspiring co-workers to help a big cause!

Conserve by attending to leaky pipes and taps.