The next twenty years will be completely unlike the last twenty years‎.‎ The world is in economic crisis‎,‎ and there are no easy fixes to our predicament‎.‎ Unsustainable trends in the economy‎,‎ energy‎,‎ and the environment have finally caught up with us and are converging on a very narrow window of time the "Twenty‎-Teens‎.‎" The Crash Course presents our predicament and illuminates the path ahead‎,‎ so you can face the coming disruptions and thrive‎-‎-without fearing the future or retreating into denial‎.‎ In this book you will find solid facts and grounded reasoning presented in a calm‎,‎ positive‎,‎ non‎-partisan manner‎.‎ Our money system places impossible demands upon a finite world‎.‎ Exponentially rising levels of debt‎,‎ based on assumptions of future economic growth to fund repayment‎,‎ will shudder to a halt and then reverse‎.‎ Unfortunately‎,‎ our financial system does not operate in reverse‎.‎ The consequences of massive deleveraging will be severe‎.‎ Oil is essential for economic growth‎.‎ The reality of dwindling oil supplies is now internationally recognized‎,‎ yet virtually no developed nations have a Plan B‎.‎ The economic risks to individuals‎,‎ companies‎,‎ and countries are varied and enormous‎.‎ Best‎-case‎,‎ living standards will drop steadily worldwide‎.‎ Worst‎-case‎,‎ systemic financial crises will toss the world into jarring chaos‎.‎ This book is written for those who are motivated to learn about the root causes of our predicaments‎,‎ protect themselves and their families‎,‎ mitigate risks as much as possible‎,‎ and control what effects they can‎.‎ With challenge comes opportunity‎,‎ and The Crash Course offers a positive vision for how to reshape our lives to be more balanced‎,‎ resilient‎,‎ and sustainable‎.‎