Pett was born in Bloomington, Indiana. He moved to Ibadan, Nigeria with his family in 1959 before returning to America in 1964. After college at Indiana University, he began doing freelance cartooning jobs for over nine years. In April 1984, he joined the Lexington Herald-Leader as their staff cartoonist. Pett's cartoons have appeared in hundreds of newspapers and magazines nationwide, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. He is a weekly contributor to USA Today, writes a regular feature on cartoons for the Los Angeles Times, and does a monthly cartoon for the educational journal Phi Delta Kappan. Mr. Pett also received the 1999 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartoons highlighting the plight of the disadvantaged, and the 1995 Global Media Award for cartoons on population issues. He is a past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, and a past Pulitzer juror. He has conducted three overseas seminars on editorial cartooning as a guest speaker of the U.S. State Department.
What if it's a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing? cartoon
Pett is perhaps best known for his cartoon featuring an attendee at a climate summit asking "What if it's a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?," which first appeared in USA Today in December of 2009 before the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Shortly after the conference was over, Pett got a request for a signed copy from former EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson. Pett has repeatedly gotten requests from over 40 environmental groups, in the United States, Canada and Europe to use the cartoon in campaigns. The Australian Greens used it in a campaign which resulted in the Australian parliament adopting the most rigorous carbon tax regime of any country in the world.
Awards
Pett was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1989 and 1998 before winning in 2000. Pett is also the winner of the 1999 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning, and a 1995 winner of the Global Media Award for cartoons on population issues.
