“The greatest getting-and-spending spree in the history of the world is about to end,” says Matthew Stein in his book, When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance and Planetary Survival.

“The 200-year boom that gave citizens of the industrial world levels of wealth, health and longevity beyond anything previously known to humanity is threatened on every side. Oil is running out; the climate is changing at a potentially catastrophic rate; wars over scarce resources are brewing; finally, most shocking of all, we don’t seem to be having enough ideas about how to fix any of these things.”