From were I come from, the solution is to teach the kids the right way as they grow up, so the next generation will have the right positive habits. Will this work in changing the world? We do not know yet. But the general idea is that our bad habits and good habits in our generation (1960-1990) are already hard wired, and you need much more energy and a higher cost to change at this level.
The worse it gets, the more expensive to correct. At some point, we just get scrapped and life will start again in its own time, perhaps evolving into something a bit smarter than us. Something that doesn't know better, but kills itself anyway.