Global warming - and whether it is man-made or a natural, recurring phenomenon - is the topic of this year's Wyoming Forum, to be held in Casper Nov. 20 and 21.

The forum, a Wyoming Heritage Foundation event, is the foundation's 26th annual meeting. The public forum is attended by business leaders, elected officials, federal, state and local government representatives, educators and the general public.

Speakers include authors Bjorn Lomborg ("Cool It") and Dennis Avery ("Global Warming: Unstoppable Every 1500 Years"), and Nikki Roy of the PEW Center on Global Climate Change.

According to the release from the foundation, rigorous debate will take place among the speakers.

"There is no question that climate change, or global warming, is a hot topic," said Mike Caballos, chairman of the Wyoming Business Alliance and Wyoming Heritage Foundation. "Most people have strong feelings about it, with the majority believing it's related to human activity power plants, automobiles, industrial manufacturing, etc. But what if it isn't or that the cost to lessen it are beyond reach? That's a question worth debating".

The debate and cost of solutions will accelerate rapidly as years progress, the release said, and as the nation's leading coal-producing state, Wyoming must be prepared to face ongoing challenges with global environment.

"If global warming persists, our state's tourism industry, mountain forests and glaciers, and agriculture and water supplies would be impacted," said Wyoming Business Alliance and Wyoming Heritage Foundation President Bill Schilling in the release. "If climate change legislation, regardless of science or projections, is passed - which is a high degree of probability - coal production in Wyoming could decline by as much as 40 percent, costing the state 8000 jobs and $360 million yearly in state and local tax revenues by 2030."

For more information about the forum, call (307) 577-8000 or email wyba@qwest.net.