Theory: The Meaning of the Word

Just recently got to watch "An Inconvenient Truth". In the film, Al Gore mentions that supposedly ciritcs dismiss global warming as a theory. In all truth, I will admit that I understand that this film was designed for a political, more than a scientific, audience. But one has to ask, is theory really that bad of a word? Is it really the new curse word amongst political and scientific groups? IMO, it does not need to have a bad connotation at all.
A theory is an explanation in science. It is an explanation that has been repeatedly tested and proven. Then what makes it not a law? The key here is that a law has needed little modification over such a great time. But that does not mean the general idea or principle of a theory is false, it simply means that the theory can become more refined over time as increasingly accurate and precise methods of testing come along. Most of what we are taught in science, and accept as proven truth is theory.
Now I probably sound like a global warming critic to some of you, but I am not. I am just here to say that theory doesn't have to become the new dirty word, nor do we have to let it be that way. We just have to realize that a great deal of useful scientific information is contained in theory, from Natural Selection to Relativity, and the word deserves to be treasured rather than shunned. Anyways, that's my two cents for today.