In Chapter 1, Storm Cunningham discusses three crises affecting the globe in the twenty-first century:

1. The Constraint Crisis: Simply put, we’re running out of room. We can’t continue to increase the population and increase consumerism without running into a wall at some point.

2. The Corrosion Crisis: Our built environment is not in the best of shape. And even those parts in better shape are based on less than energy efficient design.

3.The Contamination Crisis: In a word, pollution.