Self-reliance over technology: A Truckee author's low-tech guide to self-reliance and planetary survival

Technology supports the modern American lifestyle like a giant spider's web; it is woven into everything that we do, but it is surprisingly fragile. Without technology, an act as simple as driving to the store to pick up dinner would be nearly impossible. No electricity? You can't buy gas--the pumps don't work. You can't buy food or water--the cash registers don't work.

None of this surprises Matthew Stein. The 1978 MIT graduate and Truckee-based mechanical engineer is the author of When Technology Fails, a book that aims to prepare you for Earth's impending technological collapse.

"In 1996, my brother and sister-in-law were caught in the Central Valley of California during a power outage," he said. "They had to wait, on a hot day, in a gas line for five hours. They couldn't even buy a bottle of water or check into a motel."

Perhaps this image lingered in Stein's subconscious, growing, developing and waiting to be set free. It emerged a year later, while Stein was meditating, something he has been doing for more than 20 years to help him solve problems.

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