Due to the scope of the project, comprising the range of topics addressed, the diversity of data and sources employed, and the many types of conclusions and comments advanced, "The Skeptical Environmentalist" does not fit easily into a particular scientific discipline or methodology. Although published by the social sciences division of Cambridge University Press, the findings and conclusions were widely challenged on the basis of natural science. This interpretation of "The Skeptical Environmentalist" as a work of environmental science generated much of the controversy and debate that surrounded the book.