The advent of improved drilling technology made the extraction of geological resources easier: from coal, metals such as iron and gold, minerals, rare earth elements and rocks, rock salt, to, most of all, fossil fuels and natural gas. This development brought about enormous economic growth, which in turn led to prosperity, increased life expectancy, good medical care, and a better standard of living for many people. Today, economic growth plays a central role in how we define our world.
Have we - those living in the Anthropocene - reached the limits of how far we can go, as was postulated by the Club of Rome in 1972? In terms of the availability of geological resources, we have not. However, we have almost stretched the limits of the earth’s system to its breaking point. If we step beyond these planetary boundaries, there will be serious consequences, and this will endanger our entire civilization.
Shaft Drill
Hans Lichtenwagner
Shaft Drill
Hans Lichtenwagner
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner, 2014.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Shaft drill
Text and images by Hans Lichtenwagner
University of the Arts (UdK), Berlin
The Shaft Drillers
“Unbelievable! Look at what these animals transport to the surface everyday! Amazing!”
“Well, moles do not have to fight floods and broken poles…”
The Shaft Drillers
“Unbelievable! Look at what these animals transport to the surface everyday! Amazing!”
“Well, moles do not have to fight floods and broken poles…”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“If we want to keep up with that, we need to roll out the really heavy artillery! More boom!”
“Better technology. And poles that can handle the weight…”
“If we want to keep up with that, we need to roll out the really heavy artillery! More boom!”
“Better technology. And poles that can handle the weight…”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“We can only dig deeper with the 25-ton chisel!”
“But without the invention of my free fall device… it would be useless, wouldn’t it?”
“We can only dig deeper with the 25-ton chisel!”
“But without the invention of my free fall device… it would be useless, wouldn’t it?”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“Monsieur Kind, it’s working perfectly! I just figured out how we can deal with the water!”
“Monsieur Kind, it’s working perfectly! I just figured out how we can deal with the water!”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“I’ll order giant rings made out of cast iron to seal the shaft.”
“I’ll order giant rings made out of cast iron to seal the shaft.”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“Great idea, Mr. Chaudron! But please hurry up, I’m getting wet feet down here!”
“Great idea, Mr. Chaudron! But please hurry up, I’m getting wet feet down here!”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
“Amazing, we will be awarded the Grand Prix de Paris for our achievements in the drilling industry!!!”
“Your wits and my boom; the two of us are making heap upon heap!”
“Amazing, we will be awarded the Grand Prix de Paris for our achievements in the drilling industry!!!”
“Your wits and my boom; the two of us are making heap upon heap!”
Drawn by Hans Lichtenwagner , 2014. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Artist’s comment
At first I only scratched the surface by looking at photographs from the start of the past century. Layer by layer I descended into the underground world of the pits. One photo showed a horse being lowered into a pit using ropes and pulleys to work as a pit horse below ground, pulling cart loads of coal and metals. This brace horse and the will to bring what is inside to the surface inspired me.
How to cite
Lichtenwagner, Hans. “Shaft Drill.” Environment & Society Portal, Multimedia Library, 2014. http://www.environmentandsociety.org/node/6652/.
The comic also appears in Alexandra Hamann, Reinhold Leinfelder, Helmuth Trischler, and Henning Wagenbreth, eds., Anthropozän – 30 Meilensteine auf dem Weg in ein neues Erdzeitalter. Eine Comic-Anthologie (Munich: Deutsches Museum, 2014).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
