A new UK environmental group called the Scientific Alliance [3] has formed "in response to the growing concern that the debate on the environment has been distorted by extreme pressure groups," reports The Guardian. The group seeks to give a political voice to the often overlooked "sensible majority." Scientific Alliance contact Robert Durward--a self-discribed businessman and the director of the British Aggregates Association, a trade association for quarry operators--refuses to disclose who the financial backers are for the Scientific Alliance. Foresight Communications London, a political consulting firm, is advising the new group.