Environmental cartoon – the case for sustainable transport

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environmental cartoon – sustainable transport

The environmental impact of road traffic

Roadkill cartoon
A cartoon about the impact of cars and transportation on the environment

The image shows a globe of the earth squashed flat on a road by a car, signifying the global impact of cars and transport in general on the environment – a sort of global roadkill.

Original version created: 2004
This version created: 2019

Cartoon reference number: a478b

Electric powered cars cartoon

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electric car cartoon

Electric cars cartoon
Sustainable energy cartoon

A cartoon showing electrically powered cars filling with fuel at a filling station. Instead of filling at petrol pumps they are filling at a small electricity pylon

Although this cartoon doesn’t make a comment on the use of electricity to power vehicles, I suspect that it won’t turn out to be as sustainable as its advocates claim.
A cartoon about the environment, ecology, transport systems, hybrid cars, oil-free economy, battery power, fossil fuel dependency, power supply, energy sources.

Drawn: 2011

Cartoon reference number: env061

You can find a colour version of this cartoon here.

Our course into the future?

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Environmental cartoon: The human race driving itself over the precipice

A cartoon about the course that the human race is possibly taking.

A possible problem with progress – cartoon

The human race ignoring the warning signs and recklessly carrying on along the same road – resulting in it driving itself over the precipice and into the abyss.
The cartoon uses a car to denote the human race, the metaphor applies to other areas of human endeavour other than transport.

Cartoon reference number: env051b
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Cartoon about the fallacy of progress

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transport cartoon - traffic gridlock

Environment cartoon about transport systems
Philosophy cartoon about the fallacy of progress

A cartoon about progress, in which the progress (represented here by road transport) creates its own problems.
Is progress a good thing?

Cars at a standstill, gridlocked in a traffic jam symbolising progress (or the lack of it) in transport planning and the excessive use of cars as personal transport.
Also a cartoon about the philosophical question of whether progress is necessarily automatically a good thing.

Created: 2015.
Original version (with older vehicles) created: 1991

Cartoon reference number: env050b
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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

A world in which there is no countryside, only city development

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Cartoon - a city scene where the only evidence of nature is on a traffic island

An urban landscape with no trees or grass except on a traffic roundabout.

A person in a passing car is saying to their children “Look kids – the countryside!”
A cartoon about sprawling urban development, green spaces, the concrete jungle, nature being squeezed out, urbanisation, urbanization, city gardens,

 Drawn: 2016
Cartoon reference number: a760

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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

Ref a739
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Blindly following progress (a metaphor)

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blindly driving to the future - and over a cliff

A car driving off the end of a road and over a cliff – with the car driver still unquestioningly following the sat-nav.

The scene is a metaphor for what may happen if the human race unquestioningly and uncritically follows technological progress. Not that I think that technological progress is bad – we just need to watch where it’s going.

 Drawn: 2016
Ref a741
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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

Ref a740
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The world being destroyed by consumerism cartoon

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traffic destroying environment cartoon

A cartoon showing a lorry crossing a traffic roundabout and destroying the playing arrangement on the roundabout.

The cartoon is a metaphor for the way that our consumer society and consumerism (represented by the lorryload of goods) is devastating the earth (represented by the flower planting in the form of a map of the world).

Original version created: 1991

Cartoon reference number: a454
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Self-driving cars cartoon or driverless cars cartoon

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Self-driving or driverless car cartoon

A cartoon about driverless cars.
How driverless cars may affect society

Driverless cars are also known as driver-free cars, self driving cars, autonomous cars or robot cars.

This is a futurology cartoon, predicting the future when self-driving cars are ubiquitous.
My view is that people will drive round whether they need to or not, simply because they can – a bit like the way people currently spend large amounts of their time glued to mobile phones even though they don’t necessarily have anything pressing to say. You can read an article of mine on the subject of driverless cars here.

Drawn: 2017

a674

Environment cartoon – the impact of road traffic on the environment.

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environmental transport roadkill cartoon

The environmental impact of road traffic

Roadkill cartoon
A cartoon about the effect of cars and roads on the environment

The image shows a globe of the earth squashed flat on a road by a car, signifying the global impact of cars and transport in general on the environment – a sort of global roadkill

Original version created: 2004

Cartoon reference number: a478

High Speed Rail cartoon – HS2

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HS2 inquiry cartoon

HS2 cartoon

A comment on the proposed high speed rail service, HS2.
Inquiry into HS2 show different financial implications and differing conclusions about financial viability

The cartoon shows a government minister responsible for rail transport and trains looking at an inquiry report and thinking “My reputation’s on the line”
Cartoon reference number: a628

Pollution cartoon – the earth choking to death on car exhaust fumes

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Toxic car exhaust fumes - cartoon

Atmospheric pollution cartoon

A cartoon showing the earth or globe inside a car, with a tube connecting the car’s exhaust pipe to the inside of the car. The implication of the cartoon is that the earth is committing suicide by poisoning itself on vehicle exhaust fumes.
The wider implication of the image is that the world is suffocating due to the effects of multiple toxic emissions, pollutants and contaminants that are a by-product of the modern industrial society

Cartoon reference number: a463

Wind turbine cartoon

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wind turbines cartoon - blot on the landscape compared to motorway?

Wind power cartoon
Are wind turbines a blot on the landscape?

A motorist on a crowded motorway complaining that wind turbines are eyesores.
A cartoon about renewable energy, electricity generation, road policy, sustainable development and sustainability.

Cartoon reference number: env052a
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Roadkill cartoon. Roadside wildlife guidebook cartoon.

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Roadside wildlife roadkill cartoon

Roadkill cartoon
Roadside wildlife identification guidebook cartoon.

A cartoon showing a nature guide book for identifying roadside wildlife, in which the images of the wildlife are all squashed by car tyres or are bird strikes

A cartoon about wildlife destruction on roads due to impacts with vehicles.
Animals and birds as victims of vehicle impact
Cartoon reference number: a455
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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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Environment cartoon. Illustration – cycling to save the world

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sustainable transport cartoon tandem

Environmental cartoon or illustration showing people cycling to save the energy and the world.

A positive image of people mobilising to save the planet and to reduce resources depletion by cycling.

A positive, motivational environmental cartoon about ecology, caring for the planet.
Possibly an image for earth day.
The cartoon shows people pedalling on a multi-person bicycle or four person tandem with trailers.
The balloon symbolises the world, and indicates that there can be enjoyment and satisfacion found in working towards a better more sustainable future.

Cartoon reference number: a042
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Unintended consequences cartoon – the invention of the wheel brings with it the first road traffic accident

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Cartoon. The invention of the wheel - the first road traffic accident

Caveman cartoon
The invention of the wheel cartoon
Road traffic accident cartoon
Cartoon about unintended consequences

The inventor of the wheel becomes the first ever victim of a road traffic accident.
Cartoon about unforeseen consequence of progress and inventions

A cartoon about cave men, cavemen, caveman, stone age man, prehistoric man, tools, progress, innovation, transport, traffic accidents, road traffic accident statistics

Ref: whl001

Sustainable transport cartoon. Wind-powered cars being refuelled at wind turbines

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Environment cartoon. Wind-powered cars being refuelled at wind turbines rather than petrol pumps.

Environmental cartoons
Sustainable transport cartoon
Wind-powered cars being refuelled at wind turbines rather than petrol pumps

Fuel and energy cartoons

A cartoon about energy consumption, green energy, wind power, electricity generation, fossil fuels, alternative fuel supplies, transport, electric cars, battery powered vehicles.
Drawn: July 2010
Cartoon reference number: car710
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Transport policy cartoon. Demolishing houses to widen a road

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Road transport cartoon. Road widening scheme demolishing a house. The inhabitants are leaving

Transport policy cartoon
Infrastructure priorities cartoon

An illustration showing how transport and traffic policies can sometimes take priority over social issues such as housing policy.
The convenience for the motorist is seen as paramount – to the detriment of other considerations such as the environment and the social structure.

A road widening scheme demolishing a house. The inhabitants are evicted. A sign apologises to motorists for any inconvenience or delay in their journey.
A cartoon about traffic, road building, transport infrastructure, urban and rural environmental degradation, housing blight, road widening, traffic increase, cars, demolition.
Drawn: 2010
Cartoon reference number: tra710

Environmental cartoons – carbon footprint cartoon

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Carbon footprints and carbon tyre tracks

Environment cartoon
Carbon footprint represented as carbon tyre tracks
Ecology cartoon about carbon footprints

A cartoon about, among other environmental issues, desertification, environmental degradation, sustainability

Cartoon showing the footprints of the western world represented as tyre tracks. The vehicle that’s created them has knocked over a person from the developing world, who’s carbon footprints are relatively insignificant
Ref: env121

Environment cartoon. The Four Truck Drivers of the Apocalypse

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Environmental cartoon - Four Truckdrivers of the Apocalypse

Environmental cartoon
The Four Truck Drivers of the Apocalyse.

The cartoon shows lorries carrying cargoes that are symbolic of the ills of contemporary western society (with other societies fast catching up).
One lorry carries toxic waste, another logs from logging activity that is depleting the world’s natural resources, another carries weapons, arms and armament while the last one carries the catering facilities for the others – fast food or convenience food

Based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
A cartoon about environmental degradation, war, man made disaster, over consumption, resource depletion, the end of civilisation as we know it
Ref env048
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Cartoon about the psychology of motoring. Cartoon of a man and his relationship with his car

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Man and his car as a protective carapace

Cartoon about the psychology of motoring.

Slightly surreal illustration of a man and his car – which acts as a protective shell or carapace

In a car a person is insulated from, and isolated from, the outside world, with the car giving a sense of protection, wellbeing and power to the driver.
The car driver may feel a strong sense of invulnerability when driving the car

Ref env044
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Aviation cartoon – air transport’s impact on the environment

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Air travel environmental impact cartoon

Air travel’s environmental impact cartoon or illustration
Climate change and aviation cartoon

Cartoon about the impact of aviation on the environment
A single transatlantic flight contributes as much to global warming as a typical year of driving a car

A cartoon about aircraft, climate change, con trails, air miles, carbon footprints
Cartoon reference number: env045
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Transportation cartoon. Motorway construction – the road to hell

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road building policy - road to hell cartoon

Transport policy cartoon
Transport infrastructure cartoon

A motorway that is signposted to hell.
Almost anywhere that a road is built it generates extra traffic, resulting in a hellish environment. The motorway needn’t actually go to hell as in this cartoon, as the traffic generated and the consequent environmental destruction create hell on earth anyway!

The cartoon shows the devil watching cars driving voluntarily to hell.
A cartoon about shortsighted transport policy, congestion, road building, hell and the devil
Ref env049
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Consumerism cartoon. Transportation as a symbol of the destructive power of over consumption

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Environmental cartoon. Transport destroying the planet

Environmental cartoon
The rocky road to the future

The (metaphorical) road to the future, with the road breaking up under the weight of traffic. The car represents our consumer lifestyle.

A cartoon about consumerism, transport, cars, suv, four by four, 4×4, environmental destruction, unsustainable lifestyles, sustainability.
Cartoon reference number: env046
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Wind power cartoon. Are wind turbines a blot on the landscape?

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Wind power cartoon. Turbines as eyesores

Environment cartoon
Wind power cartoon
Energy supply cartoon

A motorist on a crowded motorway complaining that wind turbines are a blot on the landscape or are eyesores.

A cartoon about renewable energy, wind power, electricity generation, road policy,sustainable development, sustainability
Cartoon reference number: env052

There’s a colour version of this cartoon here.

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Unsustainable biofuel cartoon. A plantation of biofuel plants

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Biofuel cartoon. A huge plantation stretching for miles

Energy source cartoon
Unsustainable biofuel cartoon

The cartoon shows a car driving through a huge biofuel plantation, with the driver saying that the plantation is so large that the nearest filling station is an hour away at the other side

How much land is needed to grow biofuels?
A cartoon about sustainable energy, biodiesel, unsustainable land use, energy consumption, transport, environmental impact, petrol or gas substitutes.

Drawn: 2009

Cartoon reference number: env053

A colour version of this cartoon can be found here.

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Environment cartoon. Cycling cartoon

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Unleaded petrol cartoon. Cyclists don't use petrol

Environment cartoon
Cycling cartoon
Cycle campaign cartoon

A car with a sticker saying “I use unleaded petrol” and a cyclist with a jacket reading “I don’t use unleaded petrol”

A cartoon of a car cutting up a cyclist
A cartoon about fuel, gas, petrol, diesel, transport, sustainability, sustainable energy, cycling, bicycles, bikes, urban cycling campaigns, city cycle lanes.
Cartoon reference number: env059
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Transport cartoon: traffic jam symbolising lack of progress

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transport cartoon - traffic at a standstill

Transport system cartoon
Environment cartoon

A cartoon about the concept of progress
Is progress an illusion?
Is progress a good thing?

Cars at a standstill in a traffic jam symbolising progress (or the lack of it) in transport planning and the excessive use of cars as personal transport.
Also a cartoon about the philosophical question of whether progress is necessarily a good thing
Cartoon reference number: env050
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