Thursday's Dump the Pump Day! Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Assn., Dump the Pump Day invites all to liberate themselves from the gas pump — and its sky high prices these days — by opting for public transportation. Many transit agencies across the nation are offering free rides and organizing fun events, so check with your local bus or rail company to get in on the good deals.

Dump the pump every day by joining the Kiss My Gass protest, which kicked off on Sunday. The campaign basically asks people to avoid a chosen oil company — at the moment, ExxonMobil — for a month, in an effort to simultaneously protest high gas prices while encouraging people to rethink their dependency on gasoline. While the organizers concede their actions likely won't bring the oil companies down in and of themselves, Kiss My Gass still encourages people to take direct, individual action to combat a big, worldwide problem.

If you're really angry at Exxon, join the Exxpose Exxon campaign. This effort, led by major environmental and public advocacy organizations like Greenpeace and Sierra Club, seeks to make the world's largest private oil company to face up to and take action to combat global climate change — as well as pay all of the punitive damages awarded to fisherman, Alaskan natives, and others injured by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxpose Exxon's action center has everything from a petition you can sign to tips on "adopting" a gas station.

Of course, the most direct action you can take against Exxon and other gas companies is simply to dump the pump!