BELLEVILLE --

A public forum on global warming will be held in Belleville on Aug. 27.

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

"Climate change is a universal problem that affects us all equally, whether we live in a former coal town in Southern Illinois, a river city on the western edge of the state or a manufacturing capital in the heartland," said Jonathan Goldman, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. "We all need to be involved in finding a solution."

The next public forum, "Climate Change: How Does It Affect Alton?" takes place at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at the National Great Rivers Museum, 2 Lock and Dam Way in Alton. The event, co-sponsored by the Piasa Palisades Sierra Club and the Alton cluster of the United Congregations of Metro East, is free and open to the public.

The time and location for the Belleville meeting has not been scheduled.

The town hall meeting in Alton will emphasize the legislative solutions to climate change featured in the Global Warming Response Act (SB2220/HB5254).

The legislation contains initiatives that build on the recommendations of Illinois' Climate Change Advisory Group formed in 2006, such as requiring power and industrial facilities to pollute less through a cap-and-trade program and making cars more fuel efficient and buildings and furnaces more energy efficient.

The goal of the town hall series, which kicked off last month in Decatur, is to educate Illinois residents about the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the environment, economy and human health in our communities.

Contact reporter Maria Baran at mbaran@bnd.com or 239-2460.