There's never been a better time to be prepared.
"This book is an indispensable basic manual for the real-life issues that await us in the decades to come. . . [A] treasure trove of practical wisdom."-James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere
Matthew Stein's comprehensive primer on sustainable living skills-from food and water to shelter and energy to first-aid and crisis-management skills-prepares you to embark on the path toward sustainability. But unlike any other book, Stein not only shows you how to live green in seemingly stable times, but to live in the face of potential disasters, lasting days or years, coming in the form of social upheaval, economic meltdown, or environmental catastrophe.
When Technology Fails covers the gamut.
Inside, you'll learn:
• The basics of installing a renewable energy system for your home or business
• How to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failure
• How to keep warm if you've been left temporarily homeless
• Practical information for dealing with water-quality issues
• Alternative health and first-aid techniques
Each chapter describes skills for self-reliance in good times and bad.
Chapters Include:
• A survey of the risks to the status quo
• Supplies and preparation for short- and long-term emergencies
• Emergency measures for survival
• Prepping water, food, shelter, and clothing
• First aid, low-tech medicine, and healing
• Securing energy, heat, and power
• Metalworking
• Utensils and storage
• Low-tech chemistry engineering, machines, and materials
Fully revised and expanded, When Technology Fails ends on a positive, proactive note with a chapter on "Making the Shift to Sustainability," which offers practical suggestions for changing our world on personal, community and global levels.
"When Technology Fails is a massive project done well. First the book gives a superb presentation of WHY one should be more aware and prepared--and then HOW one should go about this. The scope of this book... is thorough."-John McPherson, author, Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills "Matthew Stein has written a clear, concise book on the subject of survival that, while educating, also does what few others have managed to do - entertain and engage the reader. Throughout the book you'll find personal stories accompanying the text to further illustrate or drive home a point. The use of these asides brings you into Matthew Stein's life, as he recounts personal stories of survival and tells the stories of others who have managed to overcome the odds to survive. Not just a survival book, Matthew also covers topics like alternative therapies; how to create a survival mindset; survival strategies; renewable energy; companion gardening; prophecies etc. as well as all the regular topics found in such books - edible plants; first aid; making a survival kit; growing, hunting and foraging; making tools; creating shelters; spinning/weaving/tanning etc. The book has some great illustrations that make plant identification and first aid that much easier to understand."- Review From John Egan, SurvivalistBooks.com
"If you've been wondering about how to respond to the twin dangers of peak oil and global warming, one of your best choices would be to read this book."-Greg Pahl, author of The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis
"We imagine that we live in the age of information, but this engrossing book reminds us of how comparatively little we know. Most human communities used to know how to provide water and food and energy for themselves, but most of the tips in this comprehensive account will come as news to most Americans. You may never need to put them into practice (or you may need them this winter when home heating prices soar) but at the very least they illuminate the state of our comparative ignorance."-Bill McKibben, aut
