According to the Department of the Interior, there are 45.5 million acres of federal onshore lands currently leased by the oil and gas industry, though only 21 percent of offshore leases are in production. Since Bush came into office, oil companies have allowed refinery utilization and capacity to fall by 4 percent. Oil companies have derided the administration's plans for new refineries. Keeping the gasoline supply tight benefits Big Oil's bottom line, and they have no interest in significantly expanding refining capacity.

The Republican DEPA Act also calls for fuels derived from so-called "clean" coal and other dirty and destructive unconventional sources. There is no such thing as clean coal. The Carter administration's liquid coal program, the Synfuels Corporation, did nothing to solve our energy problems and cost taxpayers billions before it went bust.

The honest answer to our oil problem is to use less of it. That means better fuel efficiency, more clean, renewable energy, and dramatic improvements in energy efficiency. Instead of the failed policies of the past, it's time to break our addiction to fossil fuels by shifting our priorities and our policies toward creating the clean energy economy. A serious national commitment to renewable energy will put our economy back on the path to prosperity.

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Kristina Johnson is the associate press secretary of the Sierra Club.