Great discussion. And I agree Tainter is a classic. But the woman walking her dog is hardly a major sign of the apocalypse. Ever been to Paris, I love those tiny little fires trucks that wash down the dog shit from the sidewalks in the middle of the night. Plus, we will feel the death of cities via the bursting of the current commercial real estate bubble. Follow the money, it is our financial systems and economics generally which make it impossible for us to see our ecosystems collapsing around us. Note: http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue102/Daneke102.pdf