ABSTRACT

This chapter examines local indicator reports for evidence of community concern over the environmental effects of trade in local communities. While examining the goals of local community reporting, it focuses on the contribution of such reports toward building social cohesion. The chapter compares the different types of local indicator reports and their goals before investigating their environmental content. It assesses the extent to which the environmental information and analysis found in these reports can contribute to a better understanding of the environmental effects of trade at the local level. Most local indicator reports in Canada contain indicators of pollution trade or discuss the implications of pollution trade. Many local communities are taking the axiom to 'think globally, act locally' to heart in the sense that they are concerned about global environmental pollution arising from economic activity within their own community.