Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs to Host Conference on Nuclear Weapons and Global Warming

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh's Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies will host a conference titled "Securing Our Survival-Meeting the Threats of Nuclear Weapons and Global Warming," at 9 a.m. Oct. 12 and 13, in the Teplitz Moot Courtroom, Barco Law Building, 3900 Forbes Ave., Oakland. The event will bring together internationally prominent scholars and policy analysts and community members to discuss threats that challenge the security of the world. The conference is being organized by the Ridgway Center, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Stanley Foundation.

William W. Keller, the director of the Ridgway Center said, "This conference joins two issues that could conceivably end life on this planet as we know it. It is gratifying to see so many schools within the University joining with community organizations to address global warming and nuclear proliferation."

The conference will feature several internationally known speakers, including, Thomas Graham, former special representative of the President of the United States for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament; Joseph Cirincione, senior fellow and director for Nuclear Policy at the Center for American Progress, William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Initiative at the New America Foundation; and Lisa Schirch, professor of peace building at Eastern Mennonite University and program director of the 3D Security Initiative.

Activities will consist of the following six sessions of lectures and discussions: Understanding the Nuclear Threat and Climate Crisis; U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy-Impact on Proliferation; Nuclear Disarmament: Bridging the Political Divide; The Role of Diplomacy and Conflict Prevention; Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; and Global Warming and Energy Solutions. A planning session also will be held on local actions to confront global warming and eliminate nuclear weapons.

This conference is sponsored by Pitt's Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, GSPIA, Graduate School of Public Health, Honors College, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, School of Law, School of Arts and Sciences, and University Center for International Studies, as well as The Stanley Foundation and Physicians for Social Responsibility.

This event is free and open to the public. The first 300 registrants for the conference will receive tickets for a free lunch. To sign up for the conference, visit the Ridgway Center's Web site at http://www.ridgway.pitt.edu.

For more information, contact Patricia Hermenault at 412-624-7396 or hermenault@gspia.pitt.edu.

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9/18/07/tmw