The world faces massive problems of overpopulation, potential water and food shortages, resource usage and the end of the age of oil, species extinction, economic collapse and climate change. Will that combination of factors lead to crisis and collapse? This is surely the major scientific and indeed existentialquestion of our time. That issue is far more serious and much more important than any in the past. The question is one of survival. Considerable evidence suggests that a storm is gathering around us, with a forecast of a complete collapse around 2030and trends are following those forecasts closely. The world is full and a change in culture from growth to mature stability is long overdue. New Zealand will share the fate of the world, and will be a lifeboat nation, a place of refuge for boat people and the superrich, becoming in its turn overcrowded and stressed. This critical study by New Zealander John Robinson commenced over forty years ago at the Applied Mathematics Division of the DSIR in Wellington with research on global models, and his work subsequently continued within many international organisations. The result is a comprehensive science-based understanding of the evolution of humanity, defining the fate of the environment and all other species. Despite the extreme importance of the situation and the urgent need for action as the crunch date moves ever nearer, the challenge is met with denial. Sadly this major question is ignored by most scientists and dismissed by the Royal Society of New Zealand, which continues to support innovation growth. Nothing is done to consider any limits to growth or to leave an unspoiled planet for future generations.Ec