Dr. Watt was a respected ecologist at the time. His work is still quoted extensively by people on both sides of the climate change argument, which I find amusing.
To me, the thing is, how can you live through multiple(!) decades of doomsday prophecy (each decade having its own bogeyman, of course) without building up at least a little skepticism about the scare-du-jour? I'm all for wise stewardship of our resources, but a little sanity would be nice on both sides.
-G