Transforming Cultures

Like a tsunami, consumerism has engulfed human cultures and Earth’s ecosystems. Left unaddressed, we risk global disaster. But if we channel this wave, intentionally transforming our cultures to center on sustainability, we will not only prevent catastrophe, but may usher in an era of sustainability—one that allows all people to thrive while protecting, even restoring, Earth.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment warns us that some 60 percent of ecosystem services (e.g., climate regulation, fresh water, waste treatment, fisheries) is being degraded or used unsustainably. The damage is the result of cultural systems that encourage people to define their happiness and success in terms of how much they consume. This tendency, coupled with unsustainable population growth rates, is overwhelming our finite planet, threatening to cause significant disruptions to Earth's climate and ecosystems, and subsequently to human civilization.

Worldwatch Institute's Transforming Cultures project turns a critical eye to how we can shift today's consumer cultures toward cultures of sustainability. The key to this transformation will lie in harnessing institutions that play a central role in shaping society—such as the media, educational services, business, governments, traditions, and social movements—to instill this new cultural orientation.

The project also seeks to bring women into educational, economic, political and health equality with men. This will require the erosion of cultural norms that promote early and frequent childbearing and expanding women's capacity to choose when to bear children. Studies show that such advances slow and eventually end population growth, allowing for more sustainable development worldwide.

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Staff

Erik Assadourian, State of the World 2010 Director and Senior Fellow, Worldwatch Institute
Consumerism; corporate responsibility; sustainable community development

Robert Engelman, Executive Director, Worldwatch Institute
Climate change and population; gender issues

Projects

State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures — From Consumerism to Sustainability — Demonstrating the need for a shift to a culture of sustainability and illustrating how people around the world are already taking important steps

Population and Gender — Encouraging health and educational investments that empower women to make their own family planning decisions

Transforming Cultures blog — Providing insights into cultural shifts occurring worldwide to put humanity on a sustainable course