Down to Earth

April 22 marked four decadent decades since the declaration of Earth Day, and the cartoon footprints were everywhere. Signe Wilkinson penned a simple but sharp, small-is-beautiful sentiment. (Less is always more in cartoons; I’m green with envy.) Nate Beeler aired his anti-regulatory grievances as political fallout kept coming from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption. And I pictured the anthropomorphic laments of songbirds and bees, great apes and big cats. After 40 years, we’re still debating the fate of the Earth rather than doing much about it. Which means these cartoons could all be recycled for years to come.

— Joel Pett

Joel Pett is the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky. His work also appears in USA Today.