This week we've seen political grandstanding from both Prime Minister John Key and President Obama about choices and direction. As the two elected leaders stood before their people to outline their plans for the future, the canyon between the vision and direction offered could not have been wider.
See, the thing is that we in New Zealand at a critical juncture in history, where the choices made today will determine our prosperity and well being in the future.
One choice is for New Zealand to remain dependent on the increasingly fragile fossil fuel industries of yesteryear, that will eventually no longer work and damage our economy irreparably. And this is seemingly what John Key has chosen when he talks of selling off dinosaur coal companies, only to use the monies raised to re-invest in these heavily polluting enterprises.
Or we could choose to embrace the global economic revolution that is already underway by investing in clean energy technologies, and in doing so create sustainable, long term jobs; protect and enhance our communities; guarantee our economic prosperity and tackle climate change.
This is what US President Obama called for: America's 'Sputnik' moment. And in doing so he pointed to investment in clean energy technology to "strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people." He also called Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars currently given to fossil fuel companies.
The green sector is the next wave of explosive economic growth, and New Zealand has an opportunity and the capability to be at forefront of this clean technology race. We are a renewable energy powerhouse - a nation endowed with world class thinkers, pioneers and innovators in clean energy - and have a legitimate and enviable opportunity to become clean technology leaders.
So the question is John, isn't time we stopped subsidising yesterday's energy and started investing in tomorrow's?