The energy crisis of the 1970s turned Americans toward energy conservation, fuel efficiency and alternative power. But with the fall of energy prices dawned the age of the SUV. We can't let it happen again.

The more the price of oil falls, the less shares of stock in alternative energy companies are worth. The decline, coupled with the credit crunch, has made it much harder to raise capital for things like wind farms and solar energy plants and to fund alternative energy research.

Below about $4 per gallon for gasoline most alternative fuels can't compete with petroleum products. But when oil prices and the cost of fuels like natural gas and propane are high, the payback for switching to a hybrid car, insulating homes or heating with a geothermal system could be repaid in a relatively few years. That won't be true if oil prices keep falling.

Gasoline prices below $3 per gallon and lower heating costs are a blessing to consumers and to companies struggling to stay afloat in a bad economy. But lower fuel costs threaten to reverse the trend of driving less and conserving energy. America could return to its bad old energy ways before it even completely leaves them behind. That happened in the last major energy crisis in the 1970s, when motorists got in fistfights in gas lines and then-President Jimmy Carter told the public to turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.

In less than a decade, the great national push to become independent of foreign oil vanished, as did the federal tax credits that led consumers to buy solar panels and investors to finance alternative energy products. The age of the SUV as the replacement was under way. In 1973, America imported 34.8 percent of its oil. Today, some estimates say foreign imports make up 65 percent of the supply.

Oil prices at $70 per barrel are half what they were at their peak. The oil-producing nations that rely on high prices to fuel their economy and keep citizens happy enough not to revolt are trying to make sure they fall no further. But continue to reduce demand and they will. The dollar will strengthen, and less oil money will go to fund terrorists.

The federal government finally extended tax credits for eight years for investments in solar energy. That will give the fledgling industry the security necessary to attract investors. But Congress only extended the tax credit for wind energy and other alternatives for a year or two. That was unwise. Money won't flow to a project when tax benefits could quickly vanish.

It's almost impossible to have a serious discussion of any tax increase during the during the run-up to an election, but in two short weeks America will know who its new president and members of Congress will be. That's when elected officials should come together to figure out how to keep the nation moving toward a more energy independent future despite the drop in oil prices.

Congress should, for example, set a target price for petroleum-based fuels below which a small tax increase is levied on petroleum products - say 3 cents per gallon when regular gasoline hits $2.75 per gallon, 5 cents at $2.50 and so on. The tax would help keep consumption down and encourage the move to more fuel-efficient vehicles. The revenue raised should be used to help subsidize investments in energy alternatives, the return of rail and the insulation of income homes. The alternative, human nature being what it is, is to repeat the mistakes of the past and a return to a time when the chant, with respect to oil, was "Burn, baby, burn."