climate skeptic

Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas is formally investigating a recent study on global warming. Smith calls the timing of the study's publication "suspicious," but many scientists call his tactics "bullying."

Though past measurements have suggested global warming all but stopped in the late 1990s, newly refined figures show Earth's warming has continued unabated.

Environmentalists and Democrats have launched investigations into the funding of climate skeptics. Some say the probes are necessary, while others worry they could rightly be seen as harassment.