Knox County Public Library and the City of Knoxville present Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, at 12 p.m., on Wednesday, March 23 in the East Tennessee History Center speaking on Eric Pooley's book The Climate War Politics: True Believers, Power Brokers, and the Fight to Save the Earth. Free and open to the public, the discussion does not require attendees to have read the book, although copies can be found at the Knox County Public Library.

"While politics have temporarily stifled the needed debate on climate change, the fundamental science of excess carbon in the atmosphere marches on relentlessly;" Smith says, "the final chapter of this epic struggle has yet to be written."

Eric Pooley, the former managing editor of Fortune and chief political correspondent for Time, spent three years embedded with an extraordinary cast of characters who ranged the political, scientific and environmental spectrums. The Climate War shows a behind the scenes look at the important players in the struggle to cap global warming pollution - a fight in which trillions of dollars and the fate of the planet are at stake.

"Having worked closely with many of the players in the book, it was interesting to read Pooley's framing of the story," Smith says. "While the book looked at a slice of the 'War' it's important to note that very real battles are being fought here in East Tennessee - about coal renewable energy, energy efficiency and new forms of transportation. How these battles play out will be critical to our planet's future."

Smith has served as executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy since 1993, working at the forefront of climate change issues to encourage healthy energy options while supporting higher standards of environmental stewardship at the state and federal level. Smith received a doctorate in veterinarian medicine from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Kentucky Wesleyan College. In late 2007, Smith was trained by Vice President Al Gore through The Climate Project to present on the topic of global warming.

The series will continue on April 20 with Beth Schwartz, Rabbi at Temple Beth El, talking about The Sacred Universe; Earth, Spirituality, and Religion in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Berry. For more information, please call Emily Ellis at 865-215-8723.