Politics of Climate Change: 5 Democrats Who Are Climate Change Skeptics

The two political parties continue to differ on their views regarding the politics of climate change. According to a 2013 Gallup Poll, 75 percent of Democrats worry about the planet, versus 40 percent of Republicans.

Congress is similarly split along party lines, as Democrats tend to embrace a need to reverse the effects of global warming, and feel it's already affecting life on Earth. Of course, this isn't universally accepted by all Democrats, for reasons only they know.

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Here are five Democrats who deny global warming:

1. Minnesota Representative Collin Peterson: The ranking member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Peterson believes global warming would allow for farmers in his state to grow more corn, reports ThinkProgress.com, despite a USDA report that says even a 2 degree rise in temperatures will reduce corn yields. He has sought to block the passage of climate legislation, and continually denies global warming's effect on U.S. agriculture.

2. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin: The Democratic senator supports his state's coal producers, and generally hasn't supported environmental issues. According to a 2011 story in The New York Times, further muddying his intentions, he disclosed 2009 and 2010 earnings of nearly $1.8 million from the coal brokerage firm, Enersystems Inc.

3. Former Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu: Two of the country's largest oil refineries, ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery and Citgo's Lake Charles Refinery, are housed in Louisiana, while she had accepted more than $530,000 in campaign donations from the oil and gas industry, according to the League of Conservation Voters. Her consistent position on anti-environmental issues earned her a place on the LCV's 2008 "Dirty Dozen" list.

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4. Former West Virginia Representative Nick Rahall. The congressman left office last month after a career rallying for coal production. He voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act because he felt it would cost his state coal-mining jobs. In 2011, he joined three fellow Democrats to block the Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions, according to The Washington Post.

5. Former Oklahoma Representative Dan Boren: Now retired, Boren was one of the four Democrats to push to limit the EPA's reach regarding greenhouse gas emissions. He also once told the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce the 2009 cap-and-trade bill, "is really the worst piece of legislation I've seen since I've been there," according to Hotair.com. "It raises energy prices on businesses, raises electric bills on families, and it even raises gasoline prices in the middle of a recession. And, it makes America less competitive in the global economy."

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