Local Environmental Struggles Citizen Activism in the Treadmill of Production

In recent years, environmentalism in the United States has increasingly emerged at the community level, focusing on local ecological problems. The authors critique the modern environmental mantra, "think globally, act locally," by analyzing the opportunities and constraints on local environmental action posed by economic and political structures at all levels. Three case studies--a wetlands protection project, water pollution of the Great Lakes, and consumer waste recycling--demonstrate the challenges facing citizen-worker movements.