Energy prices and the conflict in the Middle East, combined with growing concern over the progress of global warming, have jump-started a long overdue national conversation about the direction of America's energy policy. The public is clamoring for solutions and, in this generation, there has never been deeper support for increasing the amount of power we get from renewable energy.

Nathan Willcox is the energy and clean air advocate for PennEnvironment (nwillcox@pennenvironment.org). John DeFazio is the director of District 10 of the United Steelworkers, which represents 70,000 members across Pennsylvania (www.usw.org)

Our nation has a track record of responding to major challenges and achieving unthinkable goals. If any nation in the world is capable of creating an energy system that can fuel our economy while preserving our environment and long-term security, it is us. But America is failing to take advantage of our almost unlimited potential to generate electricity from renewable sources of energy like wind and solar power.

The United States has historically been a leader in the deployment of renewable energy technologies. As recently as the mid-1990s, we were the world leader in solar power capacity and No. 2 in wind.

That is no longer the case. By 2004, Japan had three times the solar photovoltaic capacity of the United States, while Germany had more than double the capacity. The United States is now third in installed wind-power capacity behind Germany and Spain.

Germany employs more than 40,000 workers in its wind energy industry and Denmark another 20,000. Both of these countries have wind resources that are only a fraction of those in our nation's windiest states. In Germany, the wind energy industry is the second largest consumer of steel, next to the automotive industry.

Fortunately, an expanding number of communities are pressing our nation toward cleaner renewable energy. State and local officials are increasingly seeing the local economic development benefits of renewable energy. Farmers and ranchers recognize the benefits, too, as workers and businesses begin to understand that renewable energy technologies have the potential to create the sort of high-quality jobs that will drive our nation into the 21st century.

Already, 22 states --from Washington state to New Hampshire to right here in Pennsylvania -- have passed renewable energy standards, committing nearly half of our country's population to renewable energy targets as high as 25 percent of total energy by 2020.

By creating guaranteed markets for renewable energy, these policies have helped to jump start new statewide energy economies and we are seeing evidence of the economic benefits.

For example, Pennsylvania's clean energy standard has spurred investment by Gamesa, a large Spanish manufacturer of wind turbines, in four plants outside of Philadelphia where the company will assemble wind energy equipment for use in the United States. One thousand men and women will go back to work at the site of a former U.S. Steel mill outside of Fairless, Pa. And this is but one of many examples of the boom in clean energy jobs we are seeing across the country.

Developing our renewable energy resources will create jobs, save consumers money and bolster rural economies. A 2004 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that a national standard requiring 20 percent renewable electricity by 2020 would save consumers tens of billions of dollars annually in electricity and natural gas bills, and create several hundred thousand new jobs -- nearly twice as many as generating the same amount of power from fossil fuels. In addition, by shifting away from fossil fuels, we can diversify and secure our energy supply while reducing global warming pollution. A recent analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists based on assumptions of the Energy Information Administration indicates that a national standard requiring 20 percent renewable electricity by 2020 could cut global warming pollution by 263 million metric tons in 2030 -- the equivalent of taking 43 million cars off the road.

Building on the momentum of the states, it is now time for Congress to act on a renewable electricity standard. Representatives Tom Udall, D.-N.M., and Todd Platts, R-York, Pa., have introduced a national renewable electricity standard of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 in the House of Representatives, and we urge local Congressmen Mike Doyle, Jason Altmire and Tim Murphy to cosponsor this important legislation. By adopting this policy, Congress can help build a cleaner and more secure economy for America, while reducing global warming pollution and making the United States once again the world's clean energy leader.