Is global warming true or false? Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, Dr. Jim Powell invites everyone to explore the odds with him in a free illustrated lecture titled “Global Warming: Thinking It Through Together” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Faulkner Gallery of the Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 E. Anapamu St.

Powell received his Ph.D. in geochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has had a distinguished career as a college teacher, college president, museum director and author.

Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush both appointed him to the National Science Board, where he served for 12 years.

His nine books include Mysteries of Terra Firma: The Age and Evolution of the World; Night Comes to the Cretaceous: Dinosaur Extinction and the Transformation of Modern Geology; and, most recently, The Inquisition of Climate Science.

For more information, email lwatts@santabarbaraca.gov.

— Christine Gallery is a reference librarian for the Santa Barbara Public Library System.