The reported decline and death of forests, initially termed "Waldsterben" and subsequently “neuartige Waldschäden," has aroused the concerns of scientists, policy makers and the general public alike. The level of press coverage has been almost unprecedented for an environmental issue. Photographs of dead trees created a strong impact, particularly in those countries where trees and forests form an important part of the national psyche. Within the English language literature, much of the concern can be traced to a widely read paper published in 1985 by Schatt and Cowling (116). Their paper, in turn, seems to be based on the earlier predictions by Ulrich et al (136) of an impending general forest decline. Since the publication of the article by Schatt and Cowting, a large volume of research has been undertaken on the general problem of Waldsterben. In his paper, we consider some of the statements by Schütt and Cowling (116). While it is always easier to work with hindsight, some of the statements made were clearly unsubstantiated at the time OF publication. We examine their claims that an unprecedented. widespread decline of various forest species occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s associated with damage by air pollution. Several reasons why Waldsterben might seem attractive to so many are examined at the end of our paper.