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My comic about the St Matthew Island reindeer. What happens when you introduce 29 reindeer to an isolated island of untouched natural resources?
Read some reflections and insights into the St Matthew Island comic and the true story of the reindeer population crash in the blog section of this website. Buy a St Matthew Island comic book.
This is a reflective essay about my comic St Matthew Island, which is one of the most popular items on this website. This essay describes my research process, including the real life story of St Matthew Island's reindeer.
Roughly half of the world’s entire oil supply is gone; half is left. How will our society choose to use the oil that remains? Comic about M. King Hubbert and his 'peak oil' theory of fossil fuel depletion.
How many invisible "energy slave" workers does it take to fuel our modern lifestyles? A comic about Buckminster Fuller and fossil fuels.
Comments
Nikki
Your comics are really great, especially for visual learners, they explain (& show) everything in an easy to understand way without overdoing it....thank you for your wonderful work!!!!
Donald Thomas
They only had so many resources before there was't enough for everyone resulting into there extinction.
Anewdys
They will both die due to lack of food and no competition in the area.
Frederick Turner
It's really not really the winter storm had killed them off. But the one that was kind of important to me was Easter Land.
My name is ahah
Very good. The population increased but the reindeers died by overpopulation, and they had no predators.
christian keegan
the reindeer died and they had no competitors and a lot of resources but later died
Henry Case
This isn't real? The reality is that a winter storm killed them off. I think misinformation is a very big issue in the world and you are part of it.
Johnathan Barber
I thank the one that was important was the one on Easter Island. The reindeer was not alive, they are not real. The reindeer is not as smart as humans. Freedom is yours as song as you don't disturb the others freedom.
kmari freeman
it is so impressive!reindeer failed to explore outer space before too late, they died off.think about our humanback in the cold war, human beings were exploring outer space in so uneconomic ways, they were so proud for their ideologies therefore they have done "stupid" things to prove.nowadays, we are much smarter, profit comes first. sustainable development relies on environmental protection.I like to quote a word from my most favor sci-fiction writer"we are like an infant trying to fix our cradle"
yo moma needss some milk
i personally think that the best example is the one of Easter Island. Many can argument that the collapse of St Matthew happened because they were just raindeers, not as "smart" as humans, but we see we are heading the same direction and still waste resources without taking any responsability. Freedom is yours as long as you don't disturb the others freedom. what are we doing with the freedom of those who will live after us?. sorry if any error, english is not my mother tongue. Nice comic by the way!!
deez nuts
Wow, that was so good. You're so talented! it's crazy how there were reindeer skeletons
Alessandro
Thanks for making this. After so many years, I keep returning to and relinking this page when I want to make a point in online discussions about sustainability and the very real possibility of collapse.
Marissa
Wow, that was so good. You're so talented!
Andru Harden
it's crazy how there were reindeer skeletons
stupid vaentino
good job
Johan Martinez
Very good work.
The Difference Between Math and Modeling with Math in Five Seconds – dy/dan
[…] more example is the story of St. Matthew Island, which dumps the expectations of pure mathematics on its head at least […]
Lilly Reid
What about Klein? He did research to see what happened to the reindeer.
Trainer Jeff
Well drawn!
Thad
nice comic
emily spence
Now you need to distribute this so that it goes to colleges, universities and high schools. E. O. Wilson told me years ago that education is one of the best ways to offset.
Mark
Transposing from deer to humans, humans (tool users) main food would be cheap fossil oil that runs our machines, when that runs out there will be trouble. The sun will always shine on the planet and as long as the miracle of photosynthesis works, there will be food.
Bethany
Just when we thought comics were dead... Thank you Stuart McMillen. Thank you for the nail-biting, stay-up-all-night and nerve-tingling suspense.
Carlos
An impressive Comic of suspense and dark horror!
Tim
i don't know how to turn of CAPS LOCK help me.....
JENNIFER SMITH
I LOVE REINDEERS
steven
excited for the sequel
matteus
I`m crying..... I`m so sad
Lauren
I'm so sad
Unloading Content | Five Twelve Thirteen
[…] Matthew Island (Stuart McMillen) A fascinating comic about population growth and carrying capacity. This isn’t strictly a […]
dothingsslowly
Great and impotant work. Thanks.
Charles Boisvert
Is it just me or is the title page inspired from Tintin's album "the black island"?
Gail Howard
Super. Wish we could print
Shashwat DC
I hail from a nation that is bustling with humans, and in sometime we would be the most populous nation in the world. I wish, Indians could draw message from the St. Matthew island, how a finite world cannot support infinite men. This strip was evocative and such an eye opener
Snow in Boston | Five Twelve Thirteen
[…] 1: This comic, by Stuart McMillen, is really awesome. Below is the abridged version, but you should check out the […]
Folke Günther
The wold have needed a wolf!
Robin Beyers
Amazing.
Richard Gardner
A great story I knew nothing about. Just to the right of your Post Comment button you should have a Sign me up for the newsletter only button.
ethyl smith
Loved the drawings and the underlying message
Lovers and Daydreamers Conquer All | The Oakland Futurist
[…] actually seems like a misunderstanding of what resources actually are. Humans aren?t like reindeer on an island who die out after eating up all the food. Most animals are unable to manage resources around […]
Unleash the Radical Intrapreneurs! | Linear to Circular | Linear to Circular
[…] well-documented examples of ecological collapse. (I?d start with those of the Aral Sea, and the reindeer of St. Matthew Island, or perhaps the ?success story? of Easter Island?s inhabitants learning to subsist in a state […]
Cindy Wineburgh
Thanks, Stuart, for this cartoon - my deceased husband George, a character himself (very unconventional doctor/gardener) loved graphic comics to illustrate ideas (he knew of Joe Sacco's work). I find it very easy to understand complex issues this way! best wishes from Indiana/US
Heliane
That totally surprised me so much!
basile
Well done, interesting, but I think the humanity got more adaptation ability than deers, and will achieve to survive (but its environment will be severly downgraded, no contest).
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Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I've truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Ronggo
Excellent, I will show it to my kids
santino
I love it I crash my car into a person
Max
I really like this comic and you should make many more!! P.S. I wish our school had these type of stories!!
pFa
- Thus reindeers teach: make love not kids. Isn't it? - Not really. These stupid animals did not even invent war.
dy/dan » Blog Archive » Great Palm Springs Action
[…] thoughts went to St. Matthew Island, which I'll link without […]
Anteater
I'd say that the most interesting thing about the whole story is how fast the population decline happened. In '63, during their population peak, the talk of town among the reindeer might have been something like: "Hmm, food is getting a bit scarce. Might be we can't grow or population more. Perhaps it's even going to have to shrink. A little bit. Over the next ten years or so." They probably had no clue whatsoever that they were just two years away from a rapid population decline 0f 99.3%. Makes me go "hmmm..."
shaakiryn
you're doing good.I love it maybe you can put color on your comic.
Kierra
wow
Gina
Wow, it's really shocking. Because, they only started off with 29 Reindeer, first the population skyrocketed for 13 years. --Now, since the food source was scarce, all the reindeer started to die off. I'm not shocked to say that this could happen to another population as well.
Savannah
The amount of time it took them to die was crazy.
ryan
interesting good jobs. kept me thinking
Tahtiyonna Solomon
it is so impressive! reindeer failed to explore outer space before too late, they died off.
Lenay T
wow. Makes you think. Seriously
Nature Bats Last: Reindeer on St. Matthew Island | Wickersham's Conscience
[...] paper, missing most of the tables, is here. There's even a comic version by Stuart McMillen here. Ned Rozell visited St. Matthews Island in 2012 and his report is [...]
The Great Disruption (moving to Canberra) - Stuart McMillen blog
[...] The Great Disruption also helped me to reassess my role as a voice within the ‘sustainability’ community. To date, a huge part of my role has been to communicate issues which are on the fringes of popular understanding. Examples include the linear nature of our economy, the efficient way nature builds itself, and the dangers of unchecked growth. [...]
Adrian
I personally think that the best example is the one of Easter Island. Many can argument that the collapse of St Matthew happened because they were just raindeers, not as "smart" as humans, but we see we are heading the same direction and still waste resources without taking any responsability. Freedom is yours as long as you don't disturb the others freedom. what are we doing with the freedom of those who will live after us?. sorry if any error, english is not my mother tongue. Nice comic by the way!!
Arianne
I enjoyed this comic, could be very true and realistic to our generation today. Hopefully we'll stop over consuming before it's too late like the comic, in a way.
Eric
Very similar to the "tragedy of the commons" story. Well done!
How To (Really) End The World | Filipino Freethinkers
[...] Well, that?s just climate change. There are other things that can cause the crash of human civilization without any help from a malevolent Loki figure, like the world?s oil reserves running dry, or overpopulation causing a population crash just like what happened to the reindeer of St. Matthew Island. [...]
Tim
It is in fact not quite, but exactly Malthusian. It is a compact, real-life example of Malthus proposition. I recommend, for examples involving human beings, reading Jared Diamond's excellent book "Collapse", in which he describes in detail the collapse and extinction of a number of human communities due to exhaustion of ecological resources. Though Victorian predictions of the end of civilization due to the accumulation of horse dung and the group of Rome's "Limits to Growth" have been falsified by human invention, we are genuinely looking at the end of some resources that are crucial to the current form of technological civilization. In fact the mere prospect of a shortage can be disastrous: as Diamond demonstrates in his book, humans, unlike reindeer, will fight ruthlessly for diminishing resources, causing chaos and accelerating the demise of society. Beware of the exponential function: it is at play in any situation of population growth and it can easily outstrip countermeasures that are merely linear.
Robert
If it's scary and you'd rather not think about it, then it's Malthusian. What we have to realize is that we are animals and our animal instincts drive us to breed, consume and fight. All the amazing technology that we've developed is driving us faster and faster towards a precipitous population crash. It is not slowing, nor can it prevent the final demise of our civilization. The signs are all there. You just have to open your eyes.
Fie
Hi Stuart, these comics are great! A really good combination of 'education', science and good stories. Well done. All the best, Fie
Macedonio
Quite malthusian! It's very interesting and well done. But it forgets the human capacity to invent, to innovate. Just remember "the green revolution", that has multiplied the production of grains. The problem of humans is that we have not been able to solve the issue of distribution (justice). Regards and thanks,
Crowdfunding: your generosity needed to fund my next comic. - Stuart McMillen comics
[...] and thematically, Rat Park will be a mix between St Matthew Island, Supernormal Stimuli and War on Drugs. It is a story I have researched, but have not yet been able [...]
Type III reflections - Stuart McMillen blog
[...] St Matthew Island and Supernormal Stimuli, Type III is a comic is about many topics at once. On one level it is about [...]
Mariana Tello
Nonoli1998 is right but I would add one more factor: overpopulation. The time for being fruitful and multiply is gone. We have to start worrying more about the quality of the human race than its quantity.
Purpose reflections - Stuart McMillen blog
[...] follow-up comic to St Matthew Island, Purpose revisits the theme of environmental sustainability, but focuses on the attitudes behind [...]
» St. Matthew Island. On reindeer and lichen SD Action!
[...] is all about reindeer. I stumbled upon this comic the other day and was delighted. I had seen it some time ago and thought it to be very neatly [...]
nonoli1998
if we don't stop our endless pollution and destruction of our earth....our only homeland will be the second St Matthew.....
St Matthew Island reflections - Stuart McMillen blog
[...] on a true story, St Matthew Island describes the introduction of 29 reindeer to a remote Alaskan island free from predators and rich [...]
Sam
A very apt, and unique, analogy - the one about Easter Island has been done to death, but the message of both ecosystems can be found in innumerable examples.... but it's a message that our current global civilization has failed to take heed of in any effective way, and the consequences for us will be the same, albeit slower as our 'island' is a lot bigger... good work Stuart!
chen fan
it is so impressive! reindeer failed to explore outer space before too late, they died off. think about our human back in the cold war, human beings were exploring outer space in so uneconomic ways, they were so proud for their ideologies therefore they have done "stupid" things to prove. nowadays, we are much smarter, profit comes first. sustainable development relies on environmental protection. I like to quote a word from my most favor sci-fiction writer "we are like an infant trying to fix our cradle"
cailyn
i love this aticle