as far as I know google scholar is still alive and well... http://scholar.google.com/

Perhaps this suggests that some of that 'old tech' should be kept working and around just in case... I probably have a modem in a basement somewhere and I'm equally sure I've thrown a bunch out thinking that they'd never be need again

Actually it is a hard choice. What we can say is that sans the rapid expansion of the human population none of the major changes that have occurred in the last 200 years would have. This itself is a reason to aim for producing changes to return things to the levels they were in the 1500's. The reason? Because the earth like and dynamic system works best when changes are gradual and therefor are less likely to push you into an instability that causes a major change of state. Both for our own good and the good of all life on the planet, we need to change our habits. That is unless we don't mind the idea of humanity (or all life) being wiped out in a few thousand years if we screw up. Your suggestion that continuing is as dangerous as trying to return to conditions pre-massive human industrial expansion isn't correctly balanced. Yes, if we reduced emissions and changed things in directions other than those that had existed for tens of thousands of years we might be in a much danger. Just remember, we can adapt to things if they happen slowly. If they happen too quickly its called extinction.