WASHINGTON -- January 4 -- Greens joined other Americans and people from all over the world in sending donations and support to the victims of the tsunami that devastated coastal regions of the Indian Ocean on December 26.

"We in the Green Party's Black Caucus send our prayers to the victims of the South Asian earthquake and tsunamis and urge support for their families and communities," said Sundiata Tellem, co-chair of the Black Caucus.

"We urge the international community to immediately take all necessary steps to extend the protections of the Early Warning System to the Indian Ocean and the areas struck by this recent tsunami," added Michele Tingling-Clemmons, who also co-chairs the Black Caucus.

Greens credited the generous contributions and pressure from millions of Americans for the Bush Administration's decision to expand its aid package to $350 million.

"We need to sustain this aid in the coming years, and help rebuild Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Thailand, and other nations," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "This isn't charity -- it's moral and political necessity, and it requires foreign policies based on international cooperation and good will instead of military and economic dominance. Imagine what we could do for the tsunami victims with the billions we're now spending on the failed Iraq occupation."

Greens urged the U.S. to see the disaster as a motivation to return to the table, renegotiate and endorse the Kyoto protocols, and work to stem catastrophic global climate change, which promises comparable devastation of coastal area far into the future if causes are not urgently addressed.

"Even though the earthquake and tsunami were unrelated to global warming, the disaster offers lessons about human vulnerability and dependence on the earth, as well as the need for international cooperation," said Peggy Lewis, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "The U.S. must join the Kyoto accord, and press for measures, such as drastic reduction in CO2 emissions, that are based on the need to sustain life, health, and ecological balance rather than the desire to sustain corporate profit margins and current consumption levels."

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