Alternative Energy Is Making Some Decent Progress

When was the last time you read a blog post that combined data on alternative energy with notes on English grammar? Here’s a discussion on Quora.com in which I’m participating:

Question: Why has alternative energy failed?

First Answer: SolarCity IPOed less than two years ago at $8 a share. Today it closed at $51.11. Wish I could fail like that.

Craig: Right. Solar PV, to take one example, is experiencing a CAGR of 20.3% (see graph below). The renewable energy industry currently employs over 6.5 million people worldwide. It’s hard to call that a failure.

Question: What is the explanation of “would that I could?” I just don’t get the full meaning of this sentence.

Anne: “Would that I could” means the same thing as “If only I could.” For example: Would that I could visit my mother! If only I could visit my mother! (I wish I could visit her.) This phrase is not common in US English today. My grandmother (b. 1905) did use this phrase.

Craig: Exactly. It’s an archaic phrasing of the subjunctive mood, stating something contrary to fact, aka a “contrary-to-fact conditional,” e.g., “If I were a rich man….”