Chris Madden Cartoons

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Easter Island statue – a cartoon about hubris and the degradation of the natural world

February 20, 2013 by chrismadden

easter island statue hubris cartoon

Easter Island statue – a cartoon about hubris

A cartoon showing Easter Islanders erecting a statue

There is a theory that the community on Easter Island went into decline when the Easter Islanders, the Rapa Nui, cut down all of the trees on the island while putting all of their efforts into erecting their famous statues, or moai.
With no trees left, life became unsustainable.

The cartoon can be seen as an argument for rewilding, the system by which degraded ecosystems can be returned to functioning systems by the reintroduction (either deliberately or by benign neglect) of native species.
An illustration about the hubris of power. It brings to mind Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Original cartoon drawn: 2012

Cartoon reference number: a537

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Filed Under: Deforestation, ENVIRONMENT, MORE Tagged With: rewilding

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  • ALL
  • COVID-19
  • ART
    ▼
    • Modern art
  • GARDENING
    ▼
    • Flower Gardening
    • Vegetable and fruit gardening
    • Garden design
    • Spring gardening
    • Summer gardening
    • Autumn gardening
    • Winter gardening
  • ENVIRONMENT
    ▼
    • Climate Change cartoons
    • Wildlife in danger
    • Pollution cartoons
    • Energy fuel power
    • Transport
    • Trees
      ▼
      • Deforestation
    • Consumerism
    • Other environment cartoons
  • SCIENCE
    ▼
    • Evolution
    • Genetics cartoons
      ▼
      • dna
    • Medical
    • Astronomy
    • Other science cartoons
  • ANIMALS
    ▼
    • Birds
    • Penguins
    • Cat cartoons
    • Insects – creepy crawlies
    • Animals (wild or pets)
  • MORE
    ▼
    • Computers, phones
    • Moon cartoons
    • Philosophy Cartoons
    • ECONOMY
      ▼
      • Euro crisis
      • Business
    • Christmas cartoons
    • Religion/Spirituality
    • Science Fiction
    • Politics
    • DOMESTIC
      ▼
      • Cooking and kitchens
      • In the home
      • Health
      • Diet
      • DIY
      • Children
    • Sociology
    • Social issues
    • Education
    • Relationships
    • Sport
      ▼
      • Olympics
  • BOOKS