Local News | Face-to-face, Senate candidates clash over the economy | Seattle Times Newspaper

When asked whether the federal government should take any action to combat global warming, Rossi was reluctant, framing the climate issue as still being hashed out in arguments between "scientists and pseudoscientists."

Rossi said he opposes so-called cap-and-trade legislation to limit carbon emissions, calling it a national energy tax. Such actions, he said, would only drive manufacturing jobs to India and China.

Murray called the effects of climate change very real for Washington state, suggesting that pollution and global warming are responsible for an array of ills, from asthma in children to poor oyster harvests.

"We have to have an energy policy that moves us to a place that is not dependent on oil," Murray said, adding that she has not signed on to any specific bill yet on the carbon-regulation issue.