Can I paraphrase your whole message as -
"We need a revolution in thought to minimise the coming disaster" ?
If so, I agree. But I don't think we'll get it. Democracy will see to that. We're essentially either selfish or incapable of feeling the same level of emotional concern for future generations that we do for this (illogical really, but definitely the case).
The governments we get are not an expression of a single unselfish and far-seeing public voice and we don't have a system that puts into power Plato's ideal of enlightened despots. Instead, we get a government which reflects the sum of millions of short term aspirations, based very much on the now and the immediate welfare of ourselves and our families. To put it in a simple form, bellyaching about the price of petrol and voting for those that promise to rectify it is a pro-family but anti-planet attitude.
So what'll happen? We'll use less petrol when the price HAS to go up because there's not much left, not because we want to save the planet. By that time it'll be (partly) too late. I wish it was different but I don't see any evidence it is. If only it had run out about 1950... We'd have had our resource wars by now, consumerism wouldn't be at obscene levels and our children's children (us) would be safe. On the other hand, billions of present-day people would be starving. The planet's a cake and it's all about how quickly and which of us eats it. (In my opinion)
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