Reason for the end of the world

"...Americans are turning into annoyingly self-absorbed hypochondriacs. Why? Because they can. Go ahead and cry, says the prevailing psychological wisdom. Any trifling discomfort you might feel has been legitimized. Your pain is valid. If you think you're sick, you are."

Kalle Lasn, (Adbusters) argues in Culture Jam (Quill Books, 2000) that the world is falling apart because

1) Americans are rich, bored and empty, consuming everything in their path and treating the natural world like a minor disturbance at best and a potential mall parking lot

and

2) because everyone wants to be like Americans.

Is it too late for humans with influence to acknowledge this and collectively act to change it? Some people claim that humans are above all a self-preserving species, and we'll figure out a solution to the most massive crisis the planet has probably ever faced (worked for the Cold War, sort of. Fifty years ago, a lot of people thought we'd all be blown to bits by now). But, it doesn't help when such a small number of people control the way the entire world works.

If you're not angry/scared/outraged , you're just taking up space. In the immortal words of the Clash, "anger can be power if you know how you can use it."