The EPA's West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum is offering a free year-long webinar series exploring ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help create more sustainable patterns of consumption in communities. The first webinar is this Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 11:30 a.m. CST, so sign up for it soon. Here're details:
When: February 1, 2011, 9:30am PST (12:30pm EST)
Speaker: Erik Assadourian, Senior Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/928518465
Webinar Summary
Erik Assadourian will be presenting on consumer culture. As director of the 2010 State of the World: Transforming Cultures project, he argues that in today’s culture, flying planes, owning many cars and living in a huge house are not conspicuously decadent choices but, oftentimes, the cultural norm. Consumer culture “leads people to find meaning, contentment, and acceptance through the consumption of goods and services,” because they have been raised to believe so, even though it does not improve quality of life and in fact destroys the environment. Instead of this system, Mr. Assadourian advocates for a shift to a new cultural paradigm based on sustainability. Here, what is “natural” and easy is also what is best for the planet. In his talk, he will take us through the current patterns of consumption, define “culture,” explain how consumerism has invaded cultures worldwide, and present his recommendations for creating a culture shift.
And here's the list of future topics (I know it's hard to read, so it's probably better to just click on the link):
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