Even though that may be true it is not clear there is a way out that does not jeopardize millions of existences/sources of purpose and meaning for millions of people. Without a careful plan out it will be a disaster. It's a complex problem that has no simple solution and most solutions tend to drive people apart, e.g. the elites may decide it is best to get rid of most of the population using drones or bio-weapons.

I can’t find it any more, but there used to be a fine grained map of the bay area’s air pollution. It it basically the inverse of per capita income.