As costs at the pump rise, efforts to bring the price down are also increasing.

Today marks the latest attempt for action through a nationwide boycott of pumping gas. Facebook events, groups on various online networks and chain e-mails have been urging Internet users to refrain from gassing up in protest of the high prices.

Rising prices have been common nationwide. Washington's average cost per gallon is $3.29 while the national average remains at $2.95, which is $.03 more than last year's national average of $2.92, according to MSNBC.com.

Sophomore Leah Downey brought the national protest to the UW, when she created the Facebook event "Gas-out: Don't pump gas on Tuesday, May 15," last month.

"In April 1997, there was a 'gas-out' conducted nationwide in protest of gas prices; gasoline prices dropped $.30 a gallon overnight," reads the event description. "If all Americans did not go to the pump on the 15th, it would take $2,200,000,000 — that's billion — out of the oil companies' pockets for just one day."

The event has returned both positive and negative feedback. More than 530 Facebook members plan to attend, and several have voiced their support.

"Will this change things? No, but if you do nothing then nothing will change. ... Big changes start from small steps," wrote junior Drew Fowler on the event wall.

Freshman Kevin Aldrich responded by countering the value of the boycott.

"Not buying gas will have absolutely no affect on the oil companies," he said in an e-mail. "The gas companies have already made their profits from the gasoline (which are only about $0.10 a gallon) by selling it to the gas stations. By not buying gas on a single day, we are not reducing the demand, we are simply shifting that demand to the day before or after. ... Everyone will just buy gas on the 14th or 16th."

Sophomore Patrick Kavanagh agreed.

"The problem with this issue is the people who are for it are screwed either way," he said in an e-mail. "Higher gas prices mean we have to find alternative methods of transportation. ... Higher gas prices will force us to start thinking more seriously about alternative energy. Lower gas prices would lead to more consumption, which would hurt the environment and make the search for alternative energy seem less important."

The boycott is not only abuzz in Seattle but has also gained national coverage. According to a recent MSNBC.com article, the April 1997 boycott caused prices to drop $0.30 in one day. However, the average price remained constant throughout the month. The $0.30 drop is not accounted for in the statistics complied on the U.S. Department of Energy's Web site.

"A short-term boycott would have little long-term impact on pump prices — even if you could convince everyone in the country to stay put for a few days," the article reported.

Several Web sites, such as the Daily Fuel Economy Tips, an informational site dedicated to helping citizens increase gas mileage and save money at the pump, also counter the gas-out's effectiveness.

"If the boycott even worked, [would companies] lower prices to gain back the small percentage of their total annual revenue that they lost?" the Web site said. "The more likely scenario would be these companies would actually slightly raise prices in order to try and collect some of the money that they may have lost."

Despite the opposition, several students remain committed to the boycott.

"I know that the gas-out is silly, but standing by idly waiting for someone else to fix the problem is a demonstration of such bewildering complacency it angers me to no end," Fowler said. "When gas hits $4 a gallon this summer, I'll simply laugh atop my bike, as it was these idiotic simpletons who did nothing and yet have the arrogant audacity to complain."

Reach contributing writer Erika Cederlind at news@thedaily.washington.edu.