On June 17th beginning at 2 PM the Climate Security Project will be holding a roundtable discussion concerning the economics of climate change and military conflict. The meeting will be held at Friends of the Earth in Washington, DC -- 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 600.

The Climate Security Project is a joint project of Friends of the Earth and Voters For Peace that examines the relationship between climate change and national security. See www.globalclimatesecurity.org. In this regard national security is not only defined as military conflict and terrorism but also economic and environmental security.

At this session our guests will be:

Marcus DuBois King is Globalization Planning Fellow in the Office of the President at Georgetown University where he works with senior university leaders to create interdisciplinary alignment behind international initiatives. Since 2002 he has served as Research Director of the Sustainable Energy Institute (SEI), a non-profit organization working with government, energy producers and consumers to promote cleaner energy policies and technologies. Prior to SEI, King was Senior Manager of Numark Associates, a DC-based energy and environmental consulting firm representing clients engaged in power generation, climate change and defense related activities. King received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown in 1993 and an MALD from Fletcher in 2000. He is currently writing his Fletcher Ph.D. dissertation on the national security implications of global warming. King had held several adjunct faculty positions at Georgetown and The George Washington University and has published numerous trade press articles about energy politics and nuclear waste issues.

Michael Shuman, an attorney and economist. He has written, co-written, or edited seven books, including most recently, The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age (Free Press, 1998). In recent years Shuman has been promoting local-economy concepts through a variety of projects. He has written nearly one hundred published articles for such periodicals as New York Times, Washington Post, Nation, Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Parade, and The Chronicle on Philanthropy. His books and articles have explored people, practices, and policies in the fields technology, national security, citizen diplomacy, municipal foreign policy, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and business development. Shuman received an A.B. with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University in 1979 and a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1982. During these years he served as a columnist for The Stanford Daily, and organized and taught freshman writing classes on "Nuclear Power: Issues and Choices." He also held internships with Natural Resources Defense Council, California Energy Commission, Friends of the Earth, and Stanford Institute for Energy Studies. In 1982 he founded the Center for Innovative Diplomacy which promoted global peace, justice, development, and environmental protection through direct citizen and city participation in international affairs. He has also been a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, the Green Policy Institute and Community Ventures.Michael Shuman

Arjun Makhijani is the Founder and President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. He has recently been writing and speaking on how to achieve a carborn-free society without nuclear energy. Makhijani, received his Ph.D. from the University of California , Berkeley . He was the principal author of the first study (1971) ever done on energy conservation potential for the U.S. economy. This study was even more remarkable as it was published two years before the 1973 oil embargo which was pivotal in our understanding of our dependence on fossil fuels. He has also written or edited four books on energy and the environment. He has produced many studies and articles on nuclear fuel cycle related issues, including weapons production, testing, and nuclear waste, over the past fifteen years. He is the principal author of the first study ever done (completed in 1971) on energy conservation potential in the U.S. economy. He is the principal editor of Nuclear Wastelands and the principal author of Mending the Ozone Hole, both published by MIT Press.

Also participating in the discussion will be Brent Blackwelder, executive director of Friends of the Earth, Kevin Zeese, executive director of Voters for Peace, Linda Schade who directs the Climate Security Project for Voters for Peace and Elizabeth Bast director of international programs at Friends of the Earth.