Skeptic or Denier?

An episode of Oprah aired recently that made me pause. The episode was Global Warming 101 with Al Gore, which originally aired on 12/05/06. During the episode Oprah asked Gore why the "skeptics" were so skeptical and disbelieving of the severity of the issue.  She also interviewed a "skeptic" for the show. What bothered me was the fact that she  wasn't really referring to skeptics. She was really talking about climate change deniers. There are many complicated facets to climate change but I don't many skeptics who deny it is a man made phenomenon. A few skeptics may disagree with some of the finer points or predictions of climate change studies but most don't disagree with scientific consensus. By calling deniers skeptics, Oprah is perpetuating a stereotype of the skeptic as a person who is quick to dismiss, close-minded and contrary. A skeptic is a person who wants evidence for a claim and uses critical thinking skills when analyzing an issue. Let's call it like it is. A denier is a denier, not a skeptic.