Chris Madden Cartoons

A searchable archive for licensing

Bioplastics cartoon

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bioplastic packaging cartoon - bioplastic pea pods

Bioplastics cartoon

In this cartoon the cellulose of the pea pod has been modified to form plastic packaging.
Plastics produced from plants are known as bioplastics.

Bioplastics are in some ways a good substitute for plastics produced from oil, however they may have a downside in that if they were extensively used vast amounts of agricultural land may have to be set aside for the production of plastics instead of food.
Original version drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference: env116b

New Year 2020 cartoon predicts bad year ahead (Drawn before the Covid-19 pandemic was foreseen!)

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Happy New Year 2020 father time tripping

New Year 2020 cartoon – prediction of a very bad year ahead.
When I drew this, in 2019, who’d have known 2020 would be such a bad year due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The cartoon shows the old year 2019 (Father Time) pushing the baby New Year 2020 in a baby buggy. Father Time is tripping over the base of a Happy New Year sign, sending the new year rushing forwards out of control towards a cliff edge.

Cartoon drawn: December 2019
Cartoon reference number: a770

Environmental art cartoon – biodegradable art

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Environmental art cartoon – biodegradable art

An environmental art cartoon, showing a piece of contemporary artwork that is 100% biodegradable.

Because the sculpture depicted in the cartoon is biodegradable it will have a limited lifespan that will make it unappealing to art collectors (never mind art conservators).

A cartoon about the art market, art conservation, environmentalism, transient art, gallerists.

Cartoon drawn: 2019

Cartoon reference number: art035
This cartoon features in my book of cartoons about art.
See the book here.
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Environment cartoon book

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Environmental cartoon book

The Beast That Ate the Earth
Environment cartoon book

Versions of many of the environmental cartoons on this site can be found in my book, The Beast That Ate the Earth.

I’ve been drawing cartoons on environmental matters since the early 1970s.
The book was published in 2004 and contains about a hundred cartoons in black and white.

The book is available through Amazon.
Such as at:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon Germany

Driving into a worrying future

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driving to the future - the collapse of civilisation

A car driving off the end of a road – symbolising the human race hurtling towards an uncertain future of its own making.

The car driver is following the sat-nav (GPS) unquestioningly as the car drives off the edge of the precipice (which metaphorically signifies the collapse of civilisation).

The road in this cartoon symbolises the human race’s road into the future, while the car is a metaphor for the human race itself, accompanied by its technological ‘life support system’.
The message is meant to be that if we’re not careful it will all end very badly.
This isn’t an anti-technology or anti-progress cartoon by the way – it’s just a view of how things might go if we aren’t careful.

Original version created: 2016

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A car driving into the future – and plunging off the end of the road

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driving to the future - the collapse of civilisation

A car driving into the future – and plunging off the end of the road

The car driver is following the sat-nav (GPS) unquestioningly as the car drives off the edge of the precipice (which metaphorically signifies the collapse of civilisation).

This cartoon is about the inherent danger in the advance of technology (here symbolised by cars, transport systems sat-nav) and other aspects of human progress. The further we progress, the greater the consequences of anything going wrong, especially if we put too much faith in technology and, as here, follow it uncritically.

Drawn: 2016

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Will increased gmo food yields cause human population increase?

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gmo food cartoon

A cartoon dealing with the issue of genetically modified crops increasing crop yield to feed more people

The cartoon shows scientists considering the consequences of increasing food yields and the possible resulting population increase.

A cartoon about gmo, genetically modified organisms, human population increase.

Original version created: 2012

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Population illustration

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over population graphic

Global overpopulation cartoon
Population crisis or the overpopulation tsunami

An illustration about the crisis of overpopulation that is threatening the ecology of the planet

The world’s population is rising at an unsustainable rate, putting pressure on the earth’s resources and threatening its biosystem due to habitat loss
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Environment cartoon – earth as a balloon

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Environment cartoon - the earth as a balloon jettisoning consumer products

Environment cartoon – earth as a balloon

An illustration showing the earth as a passenger balloon, with people throwing consumer goods over the side in order to keep afloat.
The idea is that the human race needs to jettison its dependence on consumer goods.

The concept behind the illustration is a little similar to the ‘spaceship earth’ metaphor
Cartoon reference number: a550
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Environment cartoons – a man eating the earth

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man eating the earth cartoon

One of my environment cartoons – showing a man devouring the earth

The cartoon shows the earth in space as a globe, being eaten by the gigantic man

The image is an illustration of the way that the human race is destroying the planet by over consumption and over population. Over population is implied by the giant size of a single human who is devouring the earth’s resources.
Cartoon reference number: a513
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Why animals become extinct – cartoon

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reason why animals became extinct - cartoon

An extinction cartoon – the reasons why creatures become extinct

A cartoon showing a reconstruction of an extinct animal, with scientists asking why the creature became extinct.
The creature had many features that would have made it very useful to prehistoric man – huge ivory tusks, luxurious fur and tender flesh. Obviously it was hunted to extinction by early hunters

A cartoon dealing with endangered species, palaeontology, fossils and hunter gatherers

Cartoon reference number: a469

Environmental cartoon of the earth in an hourglass

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hourglass earth cartoon

The Earth in an hourglass – environmental cartoon
The end of the world is nigh!

In the cartoon the earth is pouring through the hourglass, showing that time is running out for the world as a result of environmental pressures.
The metaphor of the hourglass is particularly relevant to the exploitation of the earth’s natural resources (such as minerals and fossil fuels that are mined), as it is these minerals that are slipping through the hourglass in the image

A cartoon about climate change, global warming and mineral resource depletion.
The original version of this cartoon was drawn in 1991 for my book When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF, and is also in my book The Beast That Ate The Earth.

See an alternative version of this cartoon

Cartoon reference: a467b
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Environment illustration – the Earth slipping through an hourglass

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Environment cartoon - Hourglass Earth

An environmental cartoon showing the Earth slipping through an hourglass like grains of sand

The earth is pouring through the hourglass like sand, showing that time is running out for the world as we know it, as a result of anthropogenic environmental degradation.
The metaphor of the hourglass is especially relevant to the over use of the earth’s natural resources such as minerals and fossil fuels that are obtained by mining, as it is these minerals that are slipping through the hourglass

An illustration about climate change, global warming, resource depletion and mineral use.
The image was first drawn in 1991

See an alternative version of this cartoon

Cartoon reference number: a467

Environment cartoon – environmental forecasting

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globe falling in rubbish bin cartoon

Environment cartoon – environmental forecasting

A cartoon showing the earth or globe dropping off its mount and falling into a rubbish bin.
The globe is in the office of an organisation called “The Institute of Environmental Forecasting” (a fictitious organisation as far as I know)

This is a cartoon about predictions of the future of the world as a result of man-made or anthropogenic environmental changes such as global warming, climate change, resource depletion, species extinction, human population increase – the list goes on!

Cartoon reference number: a464

Anthropocene cartoon – mass extinction events

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iridium layer anthropocene cartoon

Anthropocene cartoon
Is the human race heading for a mass extinction event?

A cartoon showing geological rock strata and fossils, including the iridium layer that appeared at the time of the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

The rock strata also include a layer of manufactured waste that is directly above the layer of rock that contains fossils of humans

The implication is that while the event that created the iridium layer destroyed the dinosaurs, the event that created the layer of anthropogenic waste destroyed the human race.
The current geological era or epoch is sometimes referred to as the anthropocene, as the major influence on the environment is the human race.
An earlier version of this cartoon appeared in my book of environmental cartoons, When Humans Roamed the Earth, published by Earthscan/WWF in 1991

Cartoon reference number: a458

Recycling cartoon. Woman putting man in recycling bin

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man in recycling bin cartoon

Recycling waste cartoon
Woman putting man in recycling bin

A cartoon showing a woman thinking of putting her partner or husband into the recycling waste. He is standing idly thinking of sport while she is busy doing the household chores (in this case doing the recycling by visiting the local recycling centre).

As well as being about recycling and sustainability the cartoon is about gender differences, couple incompatibility, partner resentment

Cartoon reference number: a456

Save the smallpox virus cartoon – save the whale cartoon

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smallpox virus cartoon

Fish stock depletion cartoon

A cartoon parody on Save the Whale T-shirts and other T-shirts with slogans or messages on them, especially ones with a moral dimension to them
It’s also a comment on our attitudes to different animal species, and about which ones we want to save (usually cute, cuddly, furry ones).

The cartoon draws attention to the concept of ‘poster species’, or animal species that are used for campaigning purposes for environmental issues. (This cartoon isn’t a criticism of this tendency, which is a natural human tendency due to our evolutionary responses to the natural world.)
A cartoon about animal rights, speciesism.

Cartoon reference number: a453

Fish stock depletion cartoon. Over fishing cartoon

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world map - fish pond - cartoon

Fish stock depletion cartoon
Over fishing cartoon

Cartoon of a man fishing in a pond, and complaining that there aren’t any fish left to fish.
The pond is in the form of a map of the world

The pond in the cartoon is a metaphor for the oceans of the world.
The concept is that people have in the past (and even today) thought of the earth’s oceans as being almost endless and full of unlimited supplies of fish. While in fact the oceans are relatively small, especially when the rising human population puts so much pressure on the fish stocks
Cartoon reference number: a452
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Ship of Fools cartoon – the earth heading for disaster

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globe - Ship of Fools cartoon

Ship of Fools illustration

Is the earth, and the human race, heading for disaster (because people seem to be only capable of short term planning)?

An environmental cartoon showing the earth as a ship, represented by half a globe, with people on the deck enjoying themselves, oblivious of the fact that they are steering the world towards catastophe

The illustration shows the world’s population as the passengers and crew of the Ship of Fools (or the fools on the ship)

First version drawn: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a449

Noah’s ark cartoon – why there are no unicorns

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Why there are no unicorns - Noah ark cartoon

Noah’s ark with unicorns cartoon

Why the unicorns didn’t get into Noah’s ark

A comic illustration showing animals going into Noah’s ark, with men dressing up as pantomime horses in order to be stowaways on the ark, after having tied up the unicorns
The image is about mythological creatures, species extinction, extinct animals, endangered species.
Original version drawn: 2001
Cartoon reference number: un444

Bottled water cartoon – and the developing world water supply

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Water carrier - desert and bottle - cartoon

Water supply cartoon – bottled water

An illustration commenting on the difference between the water supply in the developing world and the water supply in the developed world.
A comparison between lifestyles in the first world and the third world
The cartoon points out the huge distances over which bottled water is transported

A image shows a developing world woman carrying water on her head for a long distance, compared to a plastic bottle of water
Cartoon reference number: a443

The trouble with progress – cartoon. The end of the road

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progress end of road - cartoon

The trouble with progress – cartoon.
The end of the road.

A cartoon showing progress coming to an end and suddenly ‘running out of road’.

The concept behind the cartoon is that progress gives us lots of advantages (cars, roads and bridges in this illustration), but that it also puts us into a position of peril when the source of the progress suddenly disappears. This could be due to resource depletion, scarcity of materials, political instability, over-consumption, natural disaster, global warming, climate change.
So in this cartoon the road on the bridge (which is a metaphor for progress) suddenly comes to an end, and the car (which is another metaphor for progress) plunges off the end, taking its passengers with it.

This isn’t an anti-progress, back to nature cartoon. I’m a great believer in progress. It’s just that it has to be approached carefully, and we aren’t doing that.

Cartoon reference number: a375
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Desert mirage cartoon – an hourglass pouring sand into the desert

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hourglass creating desert cartoon

Desert mirage cartoon – an hour glass pouring sand into the desert, creating the desert

Cartoon of a man crawling through a desert, seeing a mirage

There may be a meaning to this cartoon related to global warming. Perhaps the hourglass, which is an illusion, represents the concept of climate change denial (where man made climate change is said to be an illusion). However, despite the fact that man made climate change is said to be an illusion the deserts are still getting bigger (and the polar caps smaller).

Cartoon reference number: a360

Snail on fire – environmental illustration

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snail on fire

An illustration of a snail with its shell on fire

Burning snail image

  This is a disturbing image, without any specific meaning in mind, but nevertheless very evocative.
It could be an environmental illustration symboliseing the destruction of the ecosysten or the environment.
The fact that a snail is a slow creature could symbolise the way that nature cannot run away from the destruction of the environment that is occurring.
The image is a digital painting, based quite closely on photos of snails so that it looks realistic (which is important for the impact of the image).
The image could be used in environmental campaigns or media articles and reports about the environment.
Created: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a342

The invention of agriculture – cartoon

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cartoon - stone age invention of agriculture

Cartoon – The invention of agriculture
Stone age man inventing the spade

Showing a caveman holding a new invention – the garden spade.
He is saying that he has invented agriculture

The development of agriculture allowed people to settle down and gave them time to develop and invent new ways of doing things, thus leading to civilisation and other achievements

The invention of agriculture, along with the invention of cooking, were key factors in human evolution and development.
The joke here is that a humble garden implement such as a spade can have such a profound influence on human development.
A cartoon about cavemen, prehistoric society, stone age people and society.

Cartoon reference number: a328

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