History tells us that in times such these what we get by way of distraction...WWIII anyone?
Perhaps, rather than recycling we should hoard our tin cans to be ready to construct another generation of Spitfires etc.
For even now we lie in wait for the Hurricane and have had our first wave of Kamikaze-Wednesdays.
Carousels, for instance (little wars*) may be the way forward. Unless, of course, we attempt to turn back; the clock and much else, in that case the word is, "Merry-Go-Round".
*
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Apr1996/LB-A96-Krieger.html