Nineteen Eighty Four is one of my favourite books. However, I seem to need to read it less and less nowadays. I can just observe society. Interesting that your prudent observation comes from a book within a book, so to speak. Nevertheless, Winston Smith managed to get a copy, so should we all.
Perhaps the author could draw another Orwellian analogy between energy depletion, economic adversity and environmental degradation - supporting the idea of collapse like "three sheaves of corn".