In March 2006, the Earth Institute at Columbia University convened the fourth biennial State of the Planet Conference to discuss the feasibility of sustainable development for billions worldwide. An impressive panel of leading figures on sustainable development issues explored the "where we are" and "where we have to go" around four main issues: • Research and Ingenuity • Developing Effective Institutional Structures • Tapping into Market Forces and the Economy • Challenging Behavioral Patterns and Perspectives An overview of the conference featuring summaries of presentations and a few slides is available on the website of the New York Academy of Science. Videos and transcripts can be found here at the earth institute.