  Nuclear energy density functionals (EDFs) have a long history of success in
reproducing properties of nuclei across the table of the nuclides. They capture
quantitatively the emergent features of bound nuclei, such as nuclear
saturation and pairing, yet greater accuracy and improved uncertainty
quantification are actively sought. Implementations of phenomenological EDFs
are suggestive of effective field theory (EFT) formulations and there are hints
of an underlying power counting. Multiple paths are possible in trying to turn
the nuclear EDF method into a proper EFT. I comment on the current situation
and speculate on how to proceed using an effective action formulation.
