What our policymakers say matters and the words they use can drive markets along with policy. As an organization that is advocating for sound energy policy, the recent comments by the sitting Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm are troubling. In a recent interview with Nightly, she said:
“Sometimes you swing and miss, and that’s OK. In Silicon Valley, you put notches in your belt for failures. You just have to learn from them.”
Look, we all think it is important to learn from mistakes and push to develop new technologies, but having such a cavalier attitude while advocating for such a dramatic change in our country's energy posture deserves and requires a much more responsible approach.
The fact is, we cannot afford to "swing and miss" when it comes to our energy policy. We have to get this right because our entire society depends on the energy infrastructure functioning in the most affordable, effective manner possible. People rely on the power working and the lights turning on when they flip the switch.
Unlike baseball, our energy policy is not a game. Politicians may be able to fail, but our energy infrastructure cannot.
