The Tsunami that occurred in November 2004 killed over 140,000 people, leaving several million homeless in Aceh Province and Sri

The late-December tsunami ushered in 2005 on a somber note, with the death toll at over 140,000 and rising. Several million have been left homeless along the Indian Ocean coast, in particular in Indonesia’s Aceh province and in Sri Lanka. The rebuilding, along with the immediate need for emergency food and medical assistance, will require a global relief effort.

Society is all too committed to the notion of "progress" as measured through economic growth and population expansion. The concept of working toward a " sustainable future" is not given much thought. Energy policy, for example, concentrates on expanding supply, with relatively little R&D being devoted to improving the efficiency of energy use. Yet without a change in course, human activities are destined to further degrade the global environment.