Frank Barnaby’s article “The Pugwash Conference Turns 30” (THE SCIENTIST, June 29, 1987, p. 11)is, on the whole, a fair assessment of the early accomplishments of Pugwash; but it does not do justice to its activities and development during the past decade. For example, Barnaby states that Pugwash “has already begun to fade away, leaving its goal of complete nuclear disarmament still totally unfulfilled.” That goal remains the centerpiece of Pugwash’s hope for overall disarmament and the prevention of armed conflicts—one that is shared by many other organizations and all peace-loving people.
But far from “fading away,” Pugwash has in fact accelerated its pace over the past seven or eight years. During this period our annual conferences have drawn between 90 and 225 participants each, and we have held four to six symposia or workshops each year, averaging 30 participants each. (Since Pugwash started in 1957 the total attendance at ...
