Wrong track

Re “Will the Union split over energy?,” Opinion, April 17

Ronald Brownstein’s comparison of building a clean-energy economy to building the transcontinental railroad system didn’t mention the corruption that resulted as railroads hurriedly built to grab subsidies and soon went bankrupt.

History shows that widespread hostility to the effort was caused when visionaries pushed the railroads beyond normal, organic growth. If the railroad example is to be the template for building a low-carbon, clean-energy economy, we may be in trouble.

Gene Lundy

Lawndale