Have you gotten the email forward about not buying gas from BP stations on a certain day at a certain time yet? You probably will. I’ve received one about banning BP. And another detailing why banning BP stations alone will not solve the problem.

I agree with the second one. Skipping one gas station to fuel up at another will not solve the problem of our country’s dependence on oil, which is what really led to this problem.

What will help? The answer’s easy, but not fun. Stop using so much fuel! Stop driving so much. Try biking, walking, skating, skateboarding, carpooling, taking the bus.

If you are making something and run out of sugar, don’t run to the grocery store. Head to your neighbor’s house and ask to borrow some. From our experience, life is better when you get to know your neighbors.

It’s summer, and very hot where we live. Instead of cranking up the A/C, keep the temperature setting high and run ceiling fans. Close curtains and blinds during the day. In most cases, the electricity that runs the appliances in your house comes from coal- or oil-fired electricity plants.

Make sure your home is energy efficient — check your local home-improvement stores for quick fixes, such as additional insulation, that are also eligible for tax incentives.

Look into alternative energy options. Try solar panels. If there’s an alternative energy source that you feel strongly about, fund research for it.

The best way to fix our addiction to oil is to change our way of thinking and living. Try to live simpler. See if it makes a difference in your quality of life and your energy use.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to gush into the Gulf Coast, killing sea creatures and wildlife and damaging the area.

Last week we wrote about how you should keep up with what lawmakers are doing to remedy the situation. You should also write your representatives and senators, and local lawmakers as well.

Last week, the Gulf Coast Relief Telethon raised more than $1.8 million to repair the coast.

You can call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816.

There are two websites for people who want to volunteer in Louisiana —  Louisiana Gulf Response Volunteer Program and Volunteer Louisiana. In Mississippi try Volunteer Mississippi. There’s also a Volunteer Florida and a Serve Alabama.

There are lots of environmental groups and organizations that welcome donations for their efforts on the coast. Please be careful when making donations. Make sure that the organization you pick is legitimate.

We’re at day 65 of the Gulf Coast oil spill. It’s been 65 days since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 people and sending millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. They haven’t yet been able to dam up the flow.

It’s frustrating as an ordinary citizen to listen and read reports about the devastation. What can we do? There are several things, and we are going to outline some of them for you in this series about helping the Gulf Coast.

The first step is to educate yourself about the current facts and legislation concerning the spill.

Last week, BP agreed to set up $20 billion in an escrow account for people affected by the oil spill; President Obama also appointed former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus to create a plan to help restore the Gulf Coast; and BP CEO Tony Hayward appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

There are several pieces of legislation that have been filed in Congress dealing with oil spill. Most deal with requiring BP to pay the government for the cost of clean up, or they are about assisting businesses affected by the spill. To find out the latest on all of these bills, check out The Library of Congress’ website, Thomas.gov for the absolute latest info on these.

If you have thoughts about any of these bills or proposals, write your Representative and Senators. If there’s an upcoming election in your area, write the candidates.

The White House has a blog dedicated specifically to the oil spill that is updated with information about the oil spill regularly. There doesn’t seem to be a button for comments, but you can send your thoughts via the Contact Us page.

It’s also important to read stories about the oil spill and it’s impact. Read, watch, listen. This is a huge story and most news agencies are covering it. Get your news from several different sources to help inform your opinions.

It will be very hard to offer any assistance if you don’t know what’s going on.

The next part of this series will cover donations and volunteering.

I know the Gulf Coast Oil Spill is old news. It’s not been written about here because I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it.

On April 20th, an explosion on an oil rig kills 11 people and sends hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf Coast. It’s been three weeks since the explosion and the oil is still gushing.

How can this be? How can these companies be allowed to drill so deep and not have any real solutions on hand if an explosion happens? How? I was listening to a story about this on the radio and someone equated this explosion to the Titanic. No one thought the Titanic could sink, so they had no real plans once it hit an iceberg.

I would think instances like the Titanic, Katrina, the Exxon-Valdez spill, would cause companies to have a “what if” plan? If you’re doing something as huge as drilling thousands of feet below the water level, then it should be required that your company have valid contigency plans for explosions and spills. The whole “we thought it wouldn’t happen” excuse doesn’t work for me.

So much about this catastrophe is enraging, but my current biggest concern is that it’s been 3 weeks and it still hasn’t been stopped. There’s talk that the current possible fixes could take place this weekend, but that’s still way too late.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it’s understandable that they didn’t have a real contingency plan?

And, since I hate to just put up a post complaining about this huge issue and offering no insight on ways to help, here are some suggestions for people who want to do something.

Donate your cut hair. San Francisco based charity, Matter of Trust, has a Hair for Oil Spills program. Hair is a great oil absorber. The organization has already received thousands of pounds of hair. They are also collecting fur, wool, etc.

You can sign up here to find out how and where to donate.

If you’d rather help out in another way, you can contact the Environmental Protection Agency about volunteering. Call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816.