A free public forum on global warming is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Southwestern Illinois College PSOP Building, 201 N. Church St.

The town hall meeting is part of the summer statewide Illinois Environmental Council-sponsored series that allows local residents, elected officials and community groups to discuss how soaring gas prices, asthma rates and shifting gardening zones are related to climate change.

Aur J. Beck, an energy efficiency and renewable energy installer, will speak at the Belleville meeting. He operates Advanced Energy Solutions in Carbondale and helped create the Illinois Renewable Energy Association and the Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future.

Other speakers include: Kathy Andria, president of the American Bottom Conservancy; Amy Funk, member of Sierra Club Kaskaskia Group; Brian Granahan, staff attorney of Environment Illinois; and Jonathan Goldman, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council.

"We face a host of problems related to global warming, but most people haven't made the connection," Goldman said in a news release. "These public forums will help everyone better understand the links and how we can begin to change things with good legislation and prudent, long-term solutions."