Next year will mark the 150th anniversary of the US's first oil well, in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Today, we are working to build a new economic future based on clean, renewable energy. The innovators of Titusville have modern-day counterparts in the entrepreneurs, scientists, investors and working people who are part of a growing movement to build a "green economy".

In 1859, one economic player had a notably small role: the government. The oil industry was free to develop as the market dictated. Today we do not have time to depend solely on the market to drive change. Our desire to balance economic growth with protection of our climate, to reduce our dependence on global oil markets and to account for the long-term costs fossil fuels impose on our economy requires action not only from the private sector but from policymakers as well.