Setting: Best way to create anarchy on Earth?

[Dauntless]

I just read a rather disturbing article which could do everything I want.

An energy crisis.

Namely an oil shortage crisis which will make the 1970's oil crisis look like a $.05 tax on gas.  In essence, our whole way of life, our very civilization rests on the energy production of oil.  It's not just about driving your car, but about our food, about the goods that are transported, and the manufacturing of goods.  Everything is powered by oil.  If you want the gory details, and the reasoning behind the disaster, click on the link.

[Shieldage]

On that note, there was that Outer Limits dream sequence where bacteria had eaten all the oil in the world.

In the Shadowrun RPG I believe there was a (bacteria?) that ate all the paper in (London?). If it'd been more successful.

Oh yeah. there was that (Now/Once?) and Again dream sequence where all the books in the world slowly turned blank.  Can't remember if that was explained or not :)

Yeah.. I'm just reporting what I've seen elsewhere, but they looked good :)

[M. J. Young]

I was reflecting on my aforementioned Industrial Complex, in which the world declined into primitivism because no one had to do anything so no one bothered, and it occurred to me that in many of these scenarios one critical element lies in explaining why no one did anything about it.

Having technology is too much of an advantage for everyone to let it slip away; someone would keep it, somehow, unless there wasn't any reason to do so.

--M. J. Young