This week, big oil executives went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to justify their windfall "earnings" despite the rising costs of oil compounding the already suffering economy. Surprise, surprise, the theme of the execs' testimony was, "It's not us, it's the markets." Over and over, CEO after CEO cited allegiance to supply and demand as justification for their record profits despite average Americans' sacrifices at the pumps. In fact, J. Stephen Simon, executive VP of Exxon Mobil, had the audacity to say that high earnings are needed "in the current up cycle" to pay for investments in the long term when profits will be down.

When has big oil profits ever been down? This low-earnings doomsday the execs refer to seems to point to sometime in the future when the world collectively realizes the grave we have dug for ourselves with our oil dependence, and we all begin to invest in renewable energy in some real way.

But when will this day happen? When will our elected leaders do more than politically posture themselves for reelection by staging a charade of outrage on behalf of the American people? Congress has called in oil execs to justify the industry's windfalls time and time again, and nothing except lip service ever transpires from these hearings.

America has waited for its conservative leadership's free-market schemes to make a dent in our economic and environmental woes. Not only did they not work, they compounded the problem by increasing the gap between the big guys in the suits and average folks at the pumps, and allowing the greed and corruption of the oil industry to go unregulated.

Such policy disasters also effect our country's role in the world. From wars to global warming, all signs point toward the need for a sustainable energy future, one featuring safe, renewable energy sources like wind and solar. We need policies that encourage the development of these technologies by supporting the Alternative Energy Tax Credits extension. Government investment in clean energy alternatives will create jobs, recharge the economy and protect the environment. /It's time for solutions that produce real relief for Americans: government regulation of the oil industry and investment in clean, renewable energy.

America can't wait any longer: Sign our petition to call for Clean Energy, Not Big Oil Profits.