Erik Assadourian

Erik Assadourian is a Senior Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute where he has studied cultural change, sustainability education, consumerism, degrowth, ecological ethics, corporate responsibility, religion, and sustainable communities over the past 16 years.

Currently Erik is directing State of the World 2017: EarthEd: Rethinking Education on a Changing Planet. He is author of the introductory chapter and the final chapter, “The Future of Education: A Glimpse from 2030.”

He is also developing Yardfarmers, a reality TV show that encourages Millennials to move back in with their parents to farm their parents’ and neighboring yards. Erik is also manager of the US hub of FUTUREPERFECT. And he is an adjunct professor with Goucher College’s Environmental Studies graduate program.

In 2013, Erik co-directed State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible? He is author of two chapters of the report “Re-engineering Cultures to Create a Sustainable Civilization” and “Building an Enduring Environmental Movement.”

In 2012, Erik co-directed State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity and wrote “The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries” for the report and continues to research and write on degrowth.

In 2011, Erik co-designed an eco-educational scenario for the popular board game Settlers of Catan, Catan: Oil Springs, which is a fun way for players to grapple personally with climate change, the tragedy of the commons, and the challenges that come with continued growth in a finite system.

Erik also directed State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability and wrote “The Rise and Fall of Consumer Cultures.” Erik continues to direct the Transforming Cultures project, which explores innovative new ways to intentionally and proactively transform cultural norms so that living sustainably feels as natural as living as a consumer feels today (such as reality TV and board games).

Erik also spends about half of every day raising his son, Ayhan, and is trying to do so in a way that increases the odds that Ayhan will survive the coming ecological transition (and probable civilizational collapse). When time allows, which it rarely does, Erik is writing about this at raisinganecowarrior.net.