Except the bulk of deforestation is not caused by locals needing space to live, but by big entrepreneurs investing in wood trafficking, soy plantations and livestock production.
This explosion of growth we are seeing is relatively recent, and is due not only to advances in technology, but also to cultural changes which may perhaps have been more important to enable this relentless expansion.
What was the most recognized traditional means to become rich if not by pillaging and military conquest? The idea that you could (and should!) become rich by individual economic effort was not common at all. To the contrary, it was frequently taken to be immoral, like the Medieval condemnation of usury, or the ostracism of rich people in Ancient Greece.
I recommend you take a look at the topics in Stanford's Encyclopedia of Philosophy and see if any subject matter interests you, and then use their bibliographic references for your readings:
Only in cataclysmic scenarios? I'm sorry to inform you, but in such scenarios most probably cryptos won't work either, as they all depend on proper working of the internet.
It doesn't even need to be a Madmax situation: just imagine a war between the US and China, with one of the involved causing an prolonged interruption in the communications between the two countries, as they have significant numbers of nodes/miners in most blockchains.
I'm afraid blockchains actually depend on the normal functioning of society with all its governmental structures in more ways than most crypto enthusiasts are ready to admit.
Things like this:
https://twitter.com/Diogotapuio/status/1395723721369919488