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

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

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.
Environment 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:
Driving into a worrying future
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

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

Will increased gmo food yields cause human population increase?
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

Environmental cartoon – a rubbish skip (dumpster) as a boat
A dumpster as a lifeboat – cartoon or illustration
A cartoon showing a dumpster or rubbish skip used as a lifeboat or escape vessel by a family escaping from somewhere – probably from all of the waste generated by the consumer society
First version drawn: 1991
Cartoon reference number: a445
Population illustration
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
Population cartoon
Population explosion cartoon
A cartoon about the fact that the rise in the human population is threatening the ecosystem of the earth.
The population is becoming increasingly unsustainable
Environmental illustration
Caring for the environment cartoon
Watering a flower that represents the earth.
An illustration showing the earth in the form of a flower, being watered
A cartoon about caring for the planet and the environment
Cartoon reference number: a552
Environment cartoon – earth as a balloon
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
Environment cartoons – a man eating the earth
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
Why animals become 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
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
Environment illustration – the Earth slipping through an hourglass
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
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

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
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
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
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
Ship of Fools cartoon – the earth heading for disaster
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
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
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
Global financial crisis graph – editorial illustration
Editorial illustration about financial recession – downward graph with a globe bouncing down the slope of the graph.
An illustration about the world financial crisis.
An editorial illustration about global finance, world recession and global crisis in general
Cartoon drawn: 2013
Cartoon reference number: a389
The trouble with progress – cartoon. The end of the road
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
Desert mirage cartoon – an hourglass pouring sand into the desert

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
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
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
Organic gardening cartoon. A book on organic gardening biodegrading in the rain
Organic gardening humour. A book on organic gardening has biodegraded in the rain
A cartoon showing a book about organic gardening that was left outside in the rain – and has started to biodegrade
A joke about recycling, sustainability, back to nature, back to the ground, biodynamic gardening.