Parliament session begins amid global crisisChinese Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday called on the nation to strengthen conviction for victory while he envisaged “arduous and formidable“ tasks in 2009 as the country tried to keep economic growth amid a global downturn.Wen acknowledged that 2009 will “be the most difficult year for Chinas economic development“ since the new millennium, but he said the growth rate was proposed based on Chinas needs and ability.“In China, a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion, maintaining a certain growth rate for the economy is essential for expanding employment for both urban and rural residents, increasing peoples incomes and ensuring social stability,“ Wen told nearly 3,000 NPC deputies gathering at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing.“As long as we adopt the right policies and appropriate measures and implement them efficiently, we will be able to achieve this target,“ he said.Other key economic and social targets included creating more than 9 million jobs in cities, keeping urban registered unemployment rate under 4.6 percent and keeping the rise of Consumer Price Index (CPI) at about 4 percent.Global warming skepticism on rise in U.S.DALLAS/KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - Sharon Byers is unconvinced that human activities such as the burning of coal and other fossil fuels are behind climate change.“There have been times in the past when there was global warming in the absence of man. It is all part of a natural cycle. I think it is a little vain to think man could destroy this great planet,“ said Byers, a former nurse who lives in Lees Summit, Missouri.In the U.S. heartland, global warming talk is often seen as hot air and opinion polls show skepticism on the rise, fueling conservative opposition to a climate change bill that is a priority for President Barack Obama and making some Democrats vulnerable in the November 2010 congressional elections.America will pledge at U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen that begin next week to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, which most scientists say are the main agents of climate change, by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.In global scientific circles, that is seen as vital as America accounts for around a fifth of global emissions. But for some conservative U.S. activists it all seems sinister.“Were not interested in one-world government, which seems to be the direction of this summit,“ said Dale Robertson, the founder of the Tea Party organization which has held rallies across the country to protest Obamas agenda.A constant theme on conservative and Christian talk-radio stations, which reach tens of millions of Americans, is the notion that the global warming scare is a “hoax“ aimed at crippling the U.S. economy and way of life.This all strikes a chord in these tough economic times and opinion polls show Americans cooling to the issue.A Washington Post-ABC News poll in November found that 72 percent of Americans surveyed believed global warming was happening, down from 80 percent last year.But even among Americans who accept that temperatures are climbing there is reluctance to pin the blame on humans.A Pew poll in October found 57 percent of Americans felt there was evidence that the earth was warming, down from 71 percent in April 2008. But only 36 percent attributed this to human activities, compared with 47 percent last year.TOUGH SELL, ELECTORAL RISKSThis makes the task of selling legislation to the U.S. public to cap emissions more difficult.Getting legislation to this effect next year in the U.S. Senate is high on Obamas agenda. The House of Representatives has narrowly passed its own version and Republicans see opportunities here in next years congressional contests when the Democrats will be fighting to maintain their majorities.In the House of Representatives, Republican strategists have said that Harry Teague of New Mexico and Betsy Markey of Colorado are among the many Democrats seen vulnerable on this issue in 2010.In the 100-seat Senate, some Democrats who are up for reelection next year will be in a bind on the issue, much as some are now with the healthcare debate.“If the Senate does vote on climate change at some point next year, certainly Sens. Barbara Boxer (California), Michael Bennet in Colorado, Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Harry Reid in Nevada could all be vulnerable, depending, of course, on how they vote,“ said Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent, said on Thursday negotiators in the Senate are nowhere close to writing details of a compromise climate change bill and that at least two key Senate committees, Finance and Agriculture, have not yet worked on their portions of a bill.Until then, a compromise bill will not be drafted, he said.Analysts say growing public skepticism on the issue is explained in part by the recession and job losses.“Up until a couple of years ago when people felt rel