Matthew Stein
10591 Belford Place
Truckee, CA 96161
Ph/Fax (530) 587-7618
mat@stein-design.com
2/15/2016
SEE: www.whentechfails.com
www.matstein.com
Presentation/Speech Topics for Author Matthew Stein
(NOTE: a more detailed single page summary is available for each of the following topics)
1. When Technology Fails: Self-Reliance and Surviving the Long Emergency: There is a storm
brewing on the horizon, of six global trends converging on collapse. Author, engineer, and green
Builder Mat Stein lays out what we can collectively and individually do to be more self-reliant,
sustainable, and better prepared to cope with this approaching storm.
2. When Disaster Strikes: What You Need to Know, Do, and Have on Hand: Emergency prep is like
car insurance, you hope you never need it, but if you do, you thank God you were prepared! From
pandemic to EMP, superstorms, extended blackouts and systemic collapse, bestselling author Mat
Stein lays out how best to prepare for an increasingly unstable future.
3. Developing Your Intuitive Edge and the Survivor Personality: Few among us doubt that we are
living in a time of great changes. Mother nature has built into our DNA the most incredible survival
tool, but our modern world teaches us from an early age to turn this tool off. Learning to access and
use your intuitive inner guidance system, while nurturing your survivor personality, are keys to your
ability to successfully navigate the murky waters of an uncertain future, create positive changes in our
world, and survive in a crisis situation where access to media channels and other sources of
information are negligible or nonexistent.
4. The Resilient Home: In this day and age of climate change, wildfires and escalating energy costs, it
makes good sense to build or remodel your home for maximum resilience. Learn what it takes to turn
your home into a resilient home that can handle the worst that Mother Nature can throw at you, while
cutting your energy bills and insuring that your investment won't go up in smoke or wash down the
river in the next local catastrophe.
5. EMP and Solar Flares: Fact, Fiction, Preparations and Survival: MIT trained engineer, Mat Stein,
lays out the truth about these very real, and very serious threats. In this presentation, fact will be
separated from fiction, and you will also learn how best to prepare for either event plus important
long-term ramifications and survival strategies. Knowledge is power—learn more about these critical
issues, plus what you can do on a personal and community level to prepare, and at a national to
push for implementing safeguards.
6. Water Quality and Me: Treatment Options for the Home, Travel, and Survival: Ninety-three
percent of the surface water in the United States is polluted. What different kinds of water quality
issues should one be aware of? What treatment options are available to individuals? Having
professionally designed a number of water filters, including backcountry types and filters for home
use, Stein is a true expert in the field of water quality and treatment. Point of use devices will be
covered along with whole house treatment systems, cisterns, well systems, recommended items for
your survival kit, and low-tech options that can be somewhat effective if the high tech ones are
suddenly unavailable.
7. Making Shift Happen: Transforming Collapse into Global Renaissance: (Stein is currently
working on a new book with this title) When you extend any one of six major current trends to their
natural conclusions, each of these trends becomes a potential civilization buster. Together they form
a perfect storm leading to systemic collapse of the natural systems that maintain life as we know it on
Planet Earth. First Stein shows us why “business as usual” is rapidly driving us towards the cliff of
For Additional Information please Contact: CHELSEA GREEN PUBLISHING, PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
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Visit our web site at www.chelseagreen.com.
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systemic collapse, then he inspires us with a vision of what we can and must do if we are to
proactively unite to change the way we do business, thereby creating a world dedicated to the path of
sustainability and Earth rejuvenation. Making Shift Happen will not be easy, but it is far better than
the alternative.
Toxic Mold: Health Symptoms and Do-It-Yourself Homeowner Solutions: Are toxic molds in
your house killing you slowly and quietly? Sometimes mold problems are obvious, but most often
they are not. Learn the symptoms of toxic mold exposure, how to determine whether or not your
home has a mold problem, and what you can do about it. Licensed building contractor Matthew Stein
learned about toxic mold the hard way, by living in a rental home with mold hidden inside its walls.
This home killed the prior owner, nearly killed both his wife and mother in-law, and also made several
other people quite ill. As a result of exposure to Stachybotrys, a deadly black mold, he and his wife
became quite sensitive to molds, and had to make several modifications to his current home to
remediate mold issues for improved health and vitality.
EMP, Solar Flares, and Nuclear Armageddon: Most people do not realize that our nuclear power
plants automatically disconnect from the grid and switch into emergency shut-down mode whenever
a local blackout or grid anomaly occurs, and then rely upon backup batteries and generators to keep
their cooling systems functioning so as to avoid catastrophic meltdown (like what happened at
Fukushima). If an extreme solar storm or EMP were to take the grid down long term, chances are we
would face not only the problems of grid collapse, but also numerous simultaneous reactor
meltdowns! For the price of a single Stealth Bomber, we could fix this issue, but so far congress has
failed to approve the bills that would make this happen! Learn more about this important issue, and
what you can do on a personal and community level to prepare, and at a national to implement
safeguards.
Peak Oil Prep & Making the Shift to Sustainability: “Peak Oil” is right around the corner, and is
about to impact our world in a big way. This talk both inspires us to collective action for shifting our
planet’s course from collapse to global renaissance, and to be practical and prepared to weather the
coming storms as peak oil becomes a major game changer.
Protecting Yourself From the Next Super-Bug: Just because the recent swine and bird flus never
materialized into a global pandemic, does not mean that any one of a number of existing antibiotic
resistant superbugs could not come knocking at your door some day. In this presentation, Stein
provides several examples of antibiotic resistant bacteria and viral superbugs that defy treatment with
high tech pharmaceuticals, but also balances this concern with knowledge and hope gained from
stories of individuals who have used a variety of alternative medicines, procedures, and herbs to heal
when the high-tech pharmaceutical arsenal of mainstream western medicine had failed to work its
magic. In his talk, Stein covers proven alternative medicines, herbs and materials that he direct
experience using and recommends to have on hand in the event that western pharmaceutical
medicines are either unavailable or ineffective.
Backcasting Into the Future: It was Einstein who defined insanity as “doing the same thing over
and over again and expecting different results”. He also said, “The significant problems we have
cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.” There is a powerful new
tool that we can each use to help remove the “blinders” of the old ways that got here in the first place,
and this tool is called “backcasting”. We can each use this tool to discover and create the concrete
actions and policies that will overcome today’s seemingly insurmountable challenges, shifting our
direction towards a vision of a wonderful future that most of the world desperately craves. Collectively
the peoples of this world got us into this mess, and there is no time better than the present for the
peoples of the world to start shifting gears away from our current apocalyptic course and onto a new
one pointed towards transformation and renaissance. Join Mat Stein in this workshop where we learn
to “backcast” our way into a bright and beautiful future!
Peak Oil Prep & Surviving the Long Emergency: Between the current economic crash, the peak
in world oil production (Peak Oil), collapsing ocean fisheries, and global climate change, it’s pretty
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clear to most people that our world is in a heap of trouble. This talk has two parts. The first part goes
into the six major threats to the world as we know it. The second part of this talk is about doing your
best to become more self-reliant and prepared so you can help your friends and family deal with the
coming changes in these turbulent times. An old Chinese proverb says, “Is it not too late if one waits
until one is thirsty to begin digging a well?” It can bring you great peace of mind to know that you
have done your best to plan and prepare for a variety of potential future scenarios.
Building the Super-Home: Licensed contractor, engineer and green builder, Stein presents a
selection of green building techniques for building super energy efficient structures that are not only
resistant to fires, earthquakes, and violent storms (hurricanes, etc.), they are also a pleasure to look
at and live in. The following building systems are featured: straw bale, SCIP (structural concrete
insulated panels), ICF (insulated concrete form), SIP (structural insulated panels), Cob, and Rammed
Earth/PISE (pneumatically impacted stabilized earth). Stein also presents the lessons learned from
buildings that survived intense fire storms, covers recommended fire resistant roofing and decking
materials, and includes tips for upgrading existing homes to improve their fire resistance beyond
simply providing a defensible space.
Party Like its 1929! Could you get by, like your grandparents did back in 1929 when their jobs and
savings evaporated? In the days of our grandparent’s, someone in each town knew how to grow,
fabricate, or manufacture everything that was necessary to lead a reasonably comfortable life. Not so
anymore! In a practical and entertaining manner, Stein presents a variety of skills, materials and
preparations we should all have on hand to help us weather the storms of these changing times. It
can bring great peace of mind to know that one has planned and prepared for a variety of scenarios.
Beyond the Defensible Space: Fire and Earthquake Resistant Green Building for the Western
States: Matthew Stein, author, engineer, and green builder presents a variety of building materials
and systems that provide exceptional fire and/or earthquake resistance. Remodeling and home
improvement options are discussed as well as new construction methods and materials.
The 72-Hour Survival Kit: What are the key items you should have in your grab-and-go survival kit?
Water treatment, first aid, communications, and various critical items are demonstrated and
discussed. Certain items should have compact versions to fit in your backpack for cases where foot
travel is mandated, with bulkier more extensive versions for vehicular travel.
Brief Bio: Mat Stein is an environmentalist, bestselling author, MIT trained
engineer, and green builder. He is dedicated to helping people wake up and unite
to shift our collective course from collapse to global renaissance. An active
mountain climber, Stein also serves as a guide and instructor for blind skiers.
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