Once again gas prices have spiked and politicians are clamoring for solutions. We have been here before. Every president since Richard Nixon has urged us to end our costly and dangerous reliance on oil.

But despite all the talk, our national leaders have failed to secure the policies that would dramatically reduce America's oil dependence. Nor have they pushed to free us from other dangerous energy sources, despite such recent tragedies as the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the BP oil disaster, and the death of 29 coal miners in West Virginia last spring. But while Washington has dithered, the rest of the country has moved forward.

The market for fuel-efficient cars has exploded. Today, 31 hybrid and electric models are on the road; another100 are expected to follow within four years. With gasoline prices above $3.50 per gallon in March, hybrid sales shot up 46 percent compared with a year earlier. Across the Midwest, more than 20 factories have opened or expanded in the past two years to make advanced lithium car batteries and electric vehicle components.

We've seen a similar expansion in related areas of green technology. After sustained advocacy by NRDC and others, American Municipal Power of Ohio cancelled plans to build a $4 billion coal-fired power plant in Meigs County in favor of meeting rising energy needs through far cheaper efficiency measures, solar power, and other forms of cleaner energy. The wind industry now employs 75,000 Americans; there are more wind workers than coal miners in the United States. Many of these successes have been spurred on by smart state policies: California's new law requiring 33 percent of electricity to come from renewables by 2020 is the most ambitious, but Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, and 28 other states have enacted their own versions.

The White House and Congress should follow their example. President Obama got off to a good start by requiring vehicles to reach an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. But much more can be done. NRDC is calling on the White House to raise fuel economy standards to 60 miles per gallon, pass a national renewable energy requirement, and create green building standards that will reduce home and office energy usage by 20 percent. Technologies exist to achieve these goals, but we have to build the political momentum. You can help. In September, the federal government will propose new fuel economy standards. Go to NRDC's Web site and tell decision makers to increase fuel standards to 60 miles per gallon by 2025.

Frances Beinecke, 
President