Doka LCA - Environmental Humour

Satire

Quotes

Environmental Cartoons

Cartoon by Tom Toles, (Washington D.C., USA)

Cartoon by Johann Mayr (Germany)

Cartoons from the 70's by the brilliant Ron Cobb (USA & Australia)

Cartoons by the equally brilliant Quino (Argentina)

Cartoon by Scott Willis (USA)

Cartoons by local heroes Felix Schaad and Claude Jaermann (Switzerland)

Cartoons by Kirk Anderson (USA)

Cartoons by Andy Singer (USA)

Cartoon by Chris Madden (UK)

Cartoon by Fiona Katauskas (Australia)

Now some lovely ones from the "Science Idol" cartoon competition of the Union of Concerned Scientists on scientific integrity:
 

Cartoon by Justin Bilicki (New York, USA). Contest Winner 2008

Cartoon by Dr. Thomas Kodenkandath (Colorado, USA)

Cartoon by Peter Hess (Los Angeles, USA)

Not bad, David Horsey, not bad at all. David is from Seattle, USA.

Cartoon by Adam Trepczinski (DE)

Cartoons by Khalil Bendib (Morocco, Algeria, USA)

Cartoon by Joel Pett (2000 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial cartooning), USA

Cartoon by Richard Jolley (UK)

All cartoons are copyright of the indicated authors and are displayed here with non-commercial, informational intentions only. If cartoonists or their agents dislike the free publicity I'm giving them here (like - unfortunately - Gary Larson), please contact me and I will take the material down.

Environmental Satire

• The Impossible Hamster by Andrew Simms et al. - Crazy consumption and really gross domestic product. Short film on exponential growth and the importance of respecting limits.
  


• The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard - Not exactly satire, but an accessible, well-visualised and entertaining synopsis of important issues in a 20-minute online video that explores the full life cycle of what we buy and the political-economic history of over-consumption. Some of the factual information imho has to be taken with a grain of salt.


• The Meatrix - A short spoof of "The Matrix" movie about the truth behind the lies we tell ourselves about the origin of our food (1MB Flash animation). Other language versions of The Meatrix


• Store Wars - Store Wars is a short spoof about a small band of organic vegetable puppets - Cuke Skywalker, Ham Solo, Chewbroccoli and wise old Obi Wan Cannoli - battling against Darth Tader and its empire of pollution and pesticides that has taken over the market with its arsenal of genetic engineering, irradiation and toxic chemicals. Can the Organic Rebels rescue Princess Lettuce or will they be seduced by the Dark Side of the Farm?


• A great visualisation from the Swiss campaign "High Tech - No Rights".
  The texts translates as: "Lowest Wage Worker" - "Lay-off at anytime" - "Productive for 20 hours a day" - "Works unprotected with toxins" - "Incredibly cheep!"
  And a comparison with reality... (by E. Burtynsky)

  

Environmental Quotes

• "After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say 'I want to see the manager'."
  William S. Burroughs, American author (1914 - 1997)


• "When you've spent half your political life dealing with humdrum issues like the environment, it's exciting to have a real crisis on your hands."
  Margaret Thatcher (first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1979 - 1990) on the Falklands war 1982.


• "Cars don't cause pollution, trees do."
  Ronald Reagan, Hollywood actor (1937 - 1964) and President of the United States (1981 - 1989)


• "Unfortunately, there is no way NO_x emissions of power plants can be reduced."
  Dr. Josef Vogl, head of the Department of Environmental Technology of the Environmental Protection Agency of Bavaria, in a congressional hearing in 1982. This was at a time when Japan had over 175 power plants with DeNOx catalyst operational, which were based on originally German patents developped in the 1960s.


• "America has not led but fled on the issue of global warming."
  John Kerry, US senator


• "We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late... The science is clear. The global warming debate is over."
  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hollywood actor (1970 - present) and Governor of California (2003 - present)


• "It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little."
  Oscar Wilde, Irish author (1854 - 1900) in De Profundis


• "I think God's going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding."
  Steven Wright, American comedian


• "God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages."
  Jacques Deval, French playwright (1895 - 1972)


• "Wolves are very resourceful. All they need to survive is for people not to shoot them."
  Bob Ferris, Defenders of Wildlife vice president


• "When you look at the extinction of birds and butterflies... I mean you can see how inert nature actually is. How lazy it is in adapting to man."
  Gerhard Polt, German satirist


• "Sharks are just evil bastards. I'm quite happy if all the sharks just went, because they eat fish and us. And we need the fish."
  Eddy Izzard, British comedian


• "Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them."
  Bill Vaughan, US columnist and author (1915 - 1977)


• "Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption ... We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate ... the total effect of all the advertising and promotion and selling is to create and maintain the multiplicity and intensity of wants."
  Victor Lebow, US retailing analyst and marketing consultant, in 1955


• "Socialism failed because it couldn't tell the economic truth. Capitalism may fail because it couldn't tell the ecological truth."
  Lester Brown, environmental analyst and founder of the Worldwatch Institute at the Fortune Brainstorm Conference 2006


• "It took Britain half the resources of the planet to achieve its prosperity; how many planets will a country like India require?"
  Mahatma Ghandi, leader of the Indian independence movement (1869 - 1948), in response to the question whether India will achieve the British standard of living after independence.


• "Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist."
  Kenneth Boulding, British economist (1910 - 1993). See also 'The Impossible Hamster'


• "Economy is that strange notion suggesting that if you are not doing better this year than last year, you're doing very poorly indeed."
  Franz Hohler, Swiss author


• "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
  John Maynard Keynes, British economist (1883 - 1946)


• "It doesn't have the ability to think rationally this economic model. It thinks like a drug addict: 'Where can I get my next fix?' It doesn't learn wisely. Any kind of measure of natural wisdom would be: you make a mistake, you correct it the next time around. But a drug addict feels terrible... and then says: 'I want more'. Unfortunately we have an economic model that thinks like a crack addict."
  Naomi Klein, Canadian journalist


• "The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun."
  Ralph Nader, American attorney and presidential candidate


• "Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an enormous fusion reactor safely banked a few million miles from us. It delivers more than we could ever use in just about 8 minutes. And it's wireless!"
  William McDonough, American architect


• "Since global warming Eskimos now have twenty different words for water."
  John O'Farrell, British author


• "How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean."
  Arthur C. Clarke, British author


• "My wife and I made a round-the-world trip this year. But I have to tell you honestly: We won't travel there again."
  Gerhard Polt, German satirist


• "Would you take a billion dollars, if as part of the deal the Earth were made uninhabitable a year after your death? ... well, of course not; you care about your friends, above all your children, any grandchildren. But ... what if the deal calls for the planet to be poisoned a thousand years later? We feel strong obligations to generations in the near future - should we not feel the same way about our children's great-grandchildren and generations beyond them?"
  John Cleese, British comedian and author


• "Why should I care about future generations? What have they ever done for me?"
  Groucho Marx, American comedian (1890 - 1977)

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