Rewilding 15 Million Acres: Why True Wealth Means More Than Money with Kristine Tompkins

Rewilding 15 Million Acres: Why True Wealth Means More Than Money with Kristine Tompkins

While the wealth of the world's richest individuals continues to accumulate year after year, funding billions into AI, technology, and innovation, our true wealth—the planet's natural ecosystems—receives only a fraction of the funding needed for restoration and protection. What can we learn from those rare individuals who have dedicated their lives to conserving and rewilding the Earth, choosing to invest in nature rather than the next market breakthrough?

Today Nate is joined by conservationist Kristine Tompkins, to discuss her decades of work on conservation initiatives in South America, the value of personal responsibility, and how she has cultivated a way of living without fear in taking on unprecedented environmental challenges. Kristine also reflects on the limitations of money as a metric for success and fulfillment, advocating instead for using wealth towards bettering the ecological state of our planet and rediscovering the joy of connecting with humanity's place in nature.

How can we, as individuals, 'earn' hope for the future of our planet through engaging in conservation work? What can be learned from upending industrial norms to restore a personal relationship with the natural world? Finally, how can embracing individual responsibility lead us away from passive activism to usher in active and meaningful work in service of all life on Earth?

(Conversation recorded on January 29th, 2025)

About Kristine Tompkins:

Kristine Tompkins is an American conservationist and the president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation, as well as the former CEO of Patagonia. For nearly thirty years, alongside her late husband Doug Tompkins, she has committed her career to protecting and restoring wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism, and fostering economic vitality as a result of conservation.

As the president of Tompkins Conservation, Kristine Tompkins oversees a multitude of projects rewilding the Americas. Having protected approximately 15 million acres of parklands in Chile and Argentina through Tompkins Conservation and its partners, Kristine and Douglas Tompkins are considered some of the most successful national park-oriented philanthropists in history.

Photography Credits for Kristine Tompkins Headshot: Adam Amengual

Show Notes and More

Watch this video episode on YouTube

Want to learn the broad overview of The Great Simplification in 30 minutes? Watch our Animated Movie.

---

Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future

Join our Substack newsletter

Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners

Jaksot(348)

Daniel Pauly: "Peak Fish and Other Ocean Realities"

Daniel Pauly: "Peak Fish and Other Ocean Realities"

On this episode, we meet with Professor at the University of British Columbia and Founder of Sea Around Us, Dr. Daniel Pauly. Dr. Pauly shares the role warming sea water plays in fish migration. How do warming temperatures affect water oxygen levels and fish behavior? Dr. Pauly explains that the world has passed peak fish, and why contemporary metrics do not always paint a complete picture of our dire situation. About Daniel Pauly Dr. Daniel Pauly is a Killam Professor at the University of British Columbia, the Founder of the Sea Around Us, and author of more than a dozen books. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/15-daniel-pauly

20 Huhti 20221h 1min

John Gowdy: "Superorganisms, Crazy Ants, and Fire Apes, Oh My!"

John Gowdy: "Superorganisms, Crazy Ants, and Fire Apes, Oh My!"

On this episode, we meet with Ecological Economist, John Gowdy. Gowdy explores the revolution in biology and its significance in society. How do different cultures manifest human nature? What role has agriculture, and specific crops, played in how societies developed? Further, Gowdy discusses the relationship between capitalism, surplus, and The Superorganism. Does human agency matter to the Superorganism? What role do blind evolutionary mechanisms play in the development of our society? About John Gowdy: John M. Gowdy is Professor of Economics and Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He is the recipient of the Herman Daly Award for contributions to ecological economics. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/14-john-gowdy

13 Huhti 20221h 20min

Jamie Wheal: "Neuro-anthropology and Culture Architecture"

Jamie Wheal: "Neuro-anthropology and Culture Architecture"

On this episode, we meet with Executive Director of the Flow Genome Project, Jamie Wheal. Jamie discusses the evolutionary importance of music as a coping mechanism, how the United States' university system fails to prepare students for the crises of the coming decades, and how to find hope in this time of tumult. About Jamie Wheal: Jamie Wheal is the Executive Director of Flow Genome Project. His work ranges from Fortune 500 companies, leading business schools, Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), to Red Bull and its stable of world-class athletes. He combines a background in expeditionary leadership, wilderness medicine and surf rescue, with over a decade advising high-growth companies on strategy, execution and leadership. He is a sought-after speaker, presenting to diverse and high-performing communities such as YPO, Summit Series, MaiTai Global, TEDx, and the Advertising Research Foundation. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/13-jamie-wheal

6 Huhti 20221h 21min

Dennis Meadows: "Limits to Growth turns 50 - Checking In"

Dennis Meadows: "Limits to Growth turns 50 - Checking In"

On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Systems Management and author, Dennis Meadows. Meadows revisits Limits to Growth 50 years after it was published. Looking back, how does Meadows view the book? How much of the response to his description of overshoot was based in fear? Meadows offers advice to current leaders based on the models he developed in Limits to Growth. Why is it important to develop success indicators, and how can they be clearly communicated to the public? Further, Meadows explores the available leverage points to avoid the worst types of collapse at our current stage of crises. About Dennis Meadows: Dennis Meadows is the Emeritus Professor of Systems Management at MIT and the co-author of Limits to Growth and Beyond the Limits. He has received numerous awards and is the recipient of four honorary doctorates for his contributions to environmental education. He co-authored the pioneering 1972 book The Limits to Growth, which analyzed the long-term consequences of unconstrained resource consumption driven by population and economic growth on a finite planet. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/12-dennis-meadows

30 Maalis 20221h 19min

Rex Weyler: "Crisis in the Ecology Movement"

Rex Weyler: "Crisis in the Ecology Movement"

On this episode, we meet with ecologist, writer, and Greenpeace cofounder, Rex Weyler. Weyler explains how the ecology movement was hijacked by the environmental movement. How is climate change one of many issues that has a root cause of overshoot? Weyler also explores the dangers of relying on hope as a strategy. Why must we be careful about virtual signaling in the environmental movement, and how can we "sharpen the sword" as individuals? About Rex Weyler Rex Weyler is a writer and ecologist. His books include Blood of the Land, a history of indigenous American nations, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; Greenpeace: The Inside Story, a finalist for the BC Book Award and the Shaughnessy-Cohen Award for Political Writing; and The Jesus Sayings, a deconstruction of first century history, a finalist for the BC Book Award. In the 1970s, Weyler was a cofounder of Greenpeace International and editor of the Greenpeace Chronicles. He served on campaigns to preserve rivers and forests, and to stop whaling, sealing, and toxic dumping. He currently posts the "Deep Green" column at the Greenpeace International website. He lives on Cortes Island in British Columbia, with his wife, artist Lisa Gibbons. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/rex-weyler

22 Maalis 20221h 30min

Are Americans Willing to Risk Nuclear War? | Frankly #2

Are Americans Willing to Risk Nuclear War? | Frankly #2

An important dialogue with Chuck Watson on: 1) Why the U.S. public is naïve about what nuclear war means 2) The mechanics on how nuclear war with Russia could actually happen 3) How bad would nuclear war short and long term effects be? For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-02-are-americans-willing-to-risk-nuclear-war To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LhvVyB_qo

18 Maalis 202230min

Nora Bateson: "Complexity Between The Lines"

Nora Bateson: "Complexity Between The Lines"

On this episode, we meet with award-winning filmmaker, writer, educator, and President of the International Bateson Institute, Nora Bateson. Nora brings us beyond the descriptions of the physical science that underpins our predicament to the nuance and perception of the complexity that we live within. How can we improve our relationships with others, as well as the broader world? Nora helps us understand how systems dynamics inform our predicament. How does an ecosystem develop and mature through mutual learning? What are ways we can apply this thinking to our profit-focused superstructure? About Nora Bateson Nora Bateson is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator, as well as President of the International Bateson Institute, based in Sweden. Her work asks the question "How can we improve our perception of the complexity we live within, so we may improve our interaction with the world?" An international lecturer, researcher and writer, Nora wrote, directed and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind, a portrait of her father, Gregory Bateson. Her work brings the fields of biology, cognition, art, anthropology, psychology, and information technology together into a study of the patterns in ecology of living systems. Her book, Small Arcs of Larger Circles, released by Triarchy Press, UK, 2016 is a revolutionary personal approach to the study of systems and complexity. For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/10-nora-bateson

16 Maalis 20221h 24min

What War in Ukraine means for Energy & Money | Frankly #1

What War in Ukraine means for Energy & Money | Frankly #1

In addition to regular Wednesday longform podcasts, this video is #1 of new series of short takes, "Frankly" which are framings and context on current world events. Today, I riff on longer term implications of Ukraine/Russia especially with energy and global systems. For Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/frankly-1-what-war-in-the-ukraine-means-for-energy-and-money To Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gLIP9odpVs

12 Maalis 202218min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

utelias-mieli
rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-poliisin-mieli
tiedekulma-podcast
docemilia
rss-taivaantarkkailijan-tarinoita
hippokrateen-vastaanotolla
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
ihanat-ipanat
mielipaivakirja
rss-ammamafia
rss-taivaanranta
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast