Tasty, Tasty Sausage

This story about the natural gas industry losing out to dirtier fossil fuels in the energy bill on NPR’s Morning Edition demonstrates the fundamental problem with Federal policymaking today, With Little Clout, Natural Gas Lobby Strikes Out: “[Former Senator Tim] Wirth told the industry leaders that on Waxman-Markey, they blew it. ‘Every industry was deeply engaged, except one: Yours,’ he said. ‘The natural gas industry, the industry with the most to gain and the most to offer, was not at the bargaining table.’ It’s an especially harsh verdict because the Waxman-Markey bill was drafted only after high-profile negotiations with proponents of coal, nuclear, oil, wind, solar and other energy sources.”
If natural gas is so important to national energy policy, why does the industry need to advocate for inclusion in that policy? If it’s so important, shouldn’t that be advocated by the Congressional staffs and civil service experts who are engaging in policy analysis to determine the best policy outcome for the public interest, rather than the policy outcomes best advocated by the various lobbies?