The encouragement of progressive gas tax idea is a good way to help. John Anderson (a Republican!) ran for US Pres as an independent in 1980 on the idea of a 50cent gas tax once. His idea was great but the timing was awful.

Imagine if If that could have become reality and the US lost it's lust for oil? We might have had by now more efficient trains (between smaller cities - service to rivers?), an alternative interstate freight movement system, more fuel efficient autos. If that tax could have had a chance to take hold we would probably be using a lot less oil... (sorry Dick and George)

The 50cents would have been tough at first. Gas was about $2.59 due to the new oil monopoly called OPEC which had recently punished the US with an oil embargo.

http://www.dailypast.com/business/oil-embargo.shtml

However, even the memory of long gas lines still made the thought of $3.10/gallon gas send the Republicans into hysteria. Hello Reagan. Hello oil companie$.

But if it had somehow happened it would have provided a desginated revenue source for alternative and healthy energy ideas. Created a system where we wouldn't be spending the billions of dollars of constant infrastructure maintainence and expansion that our huge and expensive road system requires. Our cancerous transportation system is generating emence losses of land, higher pollution, and unsustainable environmental degredation.  

Unfortunately the "no tax ever" people can't seem to understand that we are killing ourselves with the internal combustion engine. What's even worse is that those who do not want to see the world use less oil already have the most money and now they clearly control the Executive branch and have huge influence of the legislative. We and our planet seem destined to drown in oil...