Believing that civilization as we know it will not last, even without a definitive environmental cataclysm, the authors of this book explore the social, political and philosophical ramifications of this vision. After outlining the interaction of the forces of environmental destruction, economic rationalism and technological revolution, this book seeks to show their impact on social problems such as immigration, racial and ethnic conflict, and the loss of personal, spiritual and religious meaning. In the first chapter, the authors consider the effects of these social conflicts in both the non-Western and the Western world, concluding that the global meltdown theory is supported by the worldwide rise of terrorism. Chapter two discusses the technological and ecological forces they believe will lead to a "new world disorder". The work then goes on to use Australia as a case study illustrating the collision of population and environment. In the concluding chapter, the authors support their thesis further with a review of the literature on the subject.