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Hot air skepticism of climate change cools

At the presidential debate this week, climate change took a back seat to drilling, with both President Obama and Gov.

At the presidential debate this week, climate change took a back seat to drilling, with both President Obama and Gov. Romney arguing over who is the bigger oil man.

But don't let the misguided discussion, driven in large part by economic anxiety, fool you into thinking people don't believe the world is getting warmer.

According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, released earlier this week, an increasing percentage of Americans--Republicans and Democrats--believe global warming is real.

The disagreement--and it's a major one--is over whether humans are responsible for it. The vast majority of liberal Democrats say burning fossil fuels is to blame, while less than 20% of conservative Republicans who believe the earth is getting warmer blame human activity.

The challenge for politicians is to craft an argument that convinces Americans--particularly the skeptics--that a new energy policy is not only good for the earth, but will save them money in the long run.