Christina Conklin on Restoring Connective Tissue

The AllCreation Podcast

About Christina

Christina Conklin is an artist, researcher and writer. As a former religious studies major, she spends a lot of time exploring the intersections of belief systems and natural systems. She shares deep insights, stunning artworks, and terrifying research from her latest book, The Atlas of Disappearing Places.

Show Notes

1. At the very end of this podcast, AllCreation producer Chris Searles jumps in with a final question for Christina.
2. Click here to see the video of Christina's presentation, including the slides she shares from 12:00-38:00.

References

• Deep Time
• Stephen Jay Gould
• The Life Timeline
• Deep Ecology
• Arne Naess
• Deep Adaptation
• The Atlas of Disappearing Places (book)
• Jeremy Lent
• The Deep Transformation Network
• Deep Adaptation Network
• Global Colab
• Transition Towns
• Breakthrough Communities

Program

0:00 Welcome & Intro

TERMS

1:40 What do “Deep Ecology, Deep Adaptation, and Deep Time” mean?

THE OCEAN

5:10 What important roles does the ocean play and how is everyone on Earth connected to it?

8:30 What are some parallels between the Oceans, bodies of water, and our own bodies — also bodies of water

CHRISTINA’S SLIDE PRESENTATION

12:00 “THE ATLAS OF DISAPPEARING PLACES: OUR COAST AND OCEANS IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS"
To see the video or this presentation go here (link coming later today).

FOLLOW UP

36:00 If the ocean were a body, how sick would it be?

38:45 How optimistic are you we can make the changes we need to?

CHRISTINA’S ARTWORK

44:00 It’s stunningly beautiful, tell us more

DEEP TRANSFORMATION

46:00 What are your hopes from participating in the Deep Transformation Network?

48:30 (An interruption from producer Chris) How does the metaphor of “restoring connective tissue” relate to your ecological work and understanding?

52:00 Wrap Up

Quotes

We’re used to thinking in terms of decades and centuries, but really we’re on this much bigger timeline of Life, and I like locating myself on that timeline, it’s more grounding to me. Seeing the continuity between humans and other species, AlLL the way back into the algae, right? Let’s go ALL the way back and see the continuity.

We’re pretty sick and headed toward the hospital.

So much of what needs to happen is a paradigm shift where we re-member, Re-Member, like “belong again to the world,” and stop the idea of extraction, mastery of resources… All of these ideas came from a specific place and time in history. They have not always existed. It is not necessarily capital T, truth, in any sense.

Every religion in the world has pointed to humanity’s role as stewards of nature, as parts OF the natural order.

In much of the Developing World this is real right now.

The planetary systems are remarkably resilient. if you just leave them alone for a little while, they will find their homeostatic place again. We saw that with Covid. So, we really do have the opportunity to write new stories.

I think it’s about everybody waking up and doing everything they can. It’s now. Now is the time.

Thanks for listening.
This podcast is 1 of 4 keynotes from our Summer Solstice
2022 collection, "Restoring Connective Tissue." It was produced
and edited by Chris Searles.