J. ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS, Vol. 22(2) 123-136,1992-93 zyxw TRUST IN NATURAL RESOURCE INFORMATION SOURCES AND POSTMATERIALIST VALUES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF U.S. AND CANADIAN CITIZENS IN THE GREAT LAKES AREA zyx BRENT S. STEEL zyxwvut Washington State University-Vancouver NICHOLAS P. LOVRICH JOHN C. PIERCE Washington State University-Pullman ABSTRACT zyxwv This study examines the relationship between postmaterialist value orienta- tions and trust in natural resource information sources among Canadian and U.S. citizens. The data stem from mail surveys collected among residents in metropolitan areas on the Great Lakes. Findings suggest that individuals with zyx postmaterialist value orientations are significantly less trusting of traditional sources of natural resource information (e.g., government and private industry) than are their compatriots with materialist value orientations. In addition, Canadians are found to be generally more trusting of government information sources and less trusting of private information sources than are their American counterparts. Thus, the trust accorded an information source depends on the source itself, the value orientation of the individual according that trust, and the political culture of the country in which the information source and the individual are found. Canada and the United States are democratic nations which have moved into the stage of societal development commonly referred to as "postindustrial." Such societies are characterized by economic dominance of the tertiary sector over that of manufacturing, complex nationwide communication networks, an exten- sive role for the knowledge industry and the application of high technology, an enlarged public sector role, and historically unprecedented affluence and high 123 © 1994, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: 10.2190/YYJN-PVBQ-CWYR-BA81 http://baywood.com