World-Renowned Experts and Heroes of the Environmental Movement Coming to Pittsburgh; Dr. Robert Bullard and Dr. Michael Mann Featured Speakers at PennFuture’s Global Warming Conference on May 2

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Dr. Robert Bullard, often called the “Father of Environmental Justice,” Ware Distinguished Professor of Sociology and director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University; and Dr. Michael Mann, climate change expert and a lead author of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (along with former Vice President Al Gore and other IPCC scientists) are featured speakers at PennFuture’s upcoming conference on global warming set for Pittsburgh on May 2, 2010. The conference, “Creating a Climate for Justice” will be held at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Downtown Pittsburgh on Sunday, May 2, 2010 from 1:30 to 6:15 p.m.

Other speakers include Jan Jarrett, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture); John Hanger, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; local green business leaders; and experts on proposed federal and state legislation on global warming. Local sustainable businesses and organizations will provide information on sustainable foods; renewable energy including solar, wind, geothermal, energy efficiency, and biodiesel; green building materials; and more.

The conference begins at 1:30 p.m. with book signings by Drs. Bullard and Mann. Penguin Bookshop of Sewickley will be selling copies of “Race, Place and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to Reclaim, Rebuild and Revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast” by Robert Bullard and Beverly Wright, and “Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming” by Michael Mann and Lee Kump, as well as other books on environmental justice and global warming.

The conference is free for PennFuture members and $10 for others. Pre-registration is required by Thursday, April 29. Register online at www.pennfuture.org/events or call 1-800-321-7775.

PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization that advances policies to protect and improve the state’s environment and economy. With offices in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, West Chester, and Wilkes-Barre, PennFuture’s activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state and federal courts, advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level, public education and assisting citizens in public advocacy.