The threat that climate change poses for millions of the worlds poor and hungry people is the subject of the 24th annual World Food Day teleconference, a three-hour program to be aired worldwide from noon3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16. Members of the West Virginia University community can view the teleconference in room 101 B of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy.

The live broadcast,Climate: Changes, Challenges and Consequences,will feature a panel discussion with three eminent climate specialists:

  • Suzanne Hunt , an independent consultant, was the team leader of the WorldWatch Institutes landmark report,Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century.Hunt has extensive environmental research, policy, education and planning experience.
  • Cynthia Rosenzweig is a senior research scientist and leader of the Climate Impacts Group at the NASA Goddard Institute. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Columbia University and a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy.
  • Stephen Schneider is a professor at Stanford Universitys Department of Biological Sciences and co-director of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy. He is actively involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a lead research author and member of the writing team for the Fourth Assessment Report.

The 24th annual World Food Day Teleconference is sponsored by the U.S. National Committee for World Food Day, a coalition of 450 private voluntary organizations. The program is broadcast worldwide and is received by hundreds of North American university sites. Viewers can call in questions for the panel to be answered in the third hour.