MAINSTREAM, GRASSROOTS, and radical environmental groups all offer a bleak picture of Earth's health, predicting disaster if drastic measures are not taken to solve environmental problems. But opponents of these groups argue that their pessimism is unfounded and interferes with rational discussions of environmental issues. In addition, each side in the debate believes that the other is biased and therefore incapable of assessing the true nature of the environment.

Questions of accuracy

Environmental groups support a great deal of scientific research on environmental problems. Some of it has inarguably been instrumental in improving the state of the environment. For example, according to Mark Dowie in Losing Ground, scientists have been successful in identifying many environmental pollutants that endanger human health, such as lead, mercury, the pesticide DDT, and the radioactive component of nuclear fallout...