WE are in dynamic times when it comes to global energy needs and how those needs are to be met.
On one hand we are witnessing a growing effort to find alternative, renewable forms of energy which emit no or relatively few greenhouse gas emissions.
And on the other the world's energy needs are growing at an extraordinary pace and being satisfied to a large degree through the burning of coal, a great producer of carbon.
This appears to suit our federal and state governments who are earnestly talking about and investing in the capture and storage of carbon.
For those who are sceptical of "burying" the greenhouse gas problem, the massive investment in carbon storage is a great leap backwards.
The two different energy pathways are neatly illustrated by research being conducted in the South Australian outback.
One company is looking at using hot rocks to create steam to move an electricity-generating turbine.
Another company was yesterday talking excitedly about a promising shale oil deposit, said to have the potential to yield significant quantities of synthetic crude oil or gas.
The outback has never been such a busy place.
Also yesterday came news that the Queensland Government is contemplating the construction of a new coal port between Rockhampton and Mackay that could boost coal exports by 40 per cent.
The coal is coming from the Bowen, Galilee and Surat coal basins which could yield tens of millions of tonnes of coal annually.
Clearly Australia's love affair with coal is not ending any time soon.
Nor is China's.
The export of coal brings with it a responsibility to help deal with its emissions once the coal is burnt, in much the same way that we are increasingly demanding that manufacturers and retailers take responsibility for their products once they have been expended.
With that in mind the message from visiting American researcher Professor Jeffrey Sachs from the Earth Institute at Columbia University is particularly pertinent.
Prof Sachs has said Australia's close ties with China place it in a position to encourage the world's most popular country to reduce its carbon emissions.
What Prof Sachs also suggests is that Australia should develop a detailed vision of what its energy sources in 20 to 30 years' time will be.
That is an insight into a future that we have seen little of so far.