The reason I don't think technology can save us is because all the short term gains we've made have generally cost us in the long run. Electric lights were better than gas, but when the power comes from coal plants, it's a net pollutant. We never think far enough ahead to see the true end of our technologies, and maybe we're simply not capable of it. I think the authors are right--what we should be doing now is accepting that we're fucked and applying resources towards figuring out the softest possible landing.