Where is Modern Civilization Heading?

With a growing concern for climate change and the greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, businesses are under major scrutiny for changing their ways of operation. Over the last several years, the United States has started cracking down on natural gas fuels by putting a cap on how much can be used in a period of time and putting a tax on it. Even though we are making strides to change our ways a little bit, there are too many people that do not want to change their way of business compared to those that are willing to comply.
It is difficult to get everyone on board because we do not want to fall behind in the world economy. There are countries, like China, that do not have a cap on how much fossil fuels they are allowed to burn so they continue to be a world leader in production and exports. Being able to get many countries to transform to a  more sustainable working environment will take a major global change to finally get people aware of climate change and how it will eventually destroy us. Even here in the United States, where we have scientific leaders presenting us with evidence that climate change is real, we are still in denial that climate change is actually taking place.
There are still many countries that are on their way to operating in a sustainable way and are preparing now for the change that will one day have to take place. Germany has proposed a plan to move to more sustainable source of energy, and should be fully converted by 2020. To help heal our environment and sustain it to better living conditions, we need other countries like Germany to move to a better way of operating sustainably.
Hopefully it is not going to take the Polar Ice Caps or Greenland ice cap from melting before the world realises that we are destroying the place we all call home. In order to maintain the environment, it is going to take a lot of time, work, and money but it is something we need in the near future in order to help the survival of our race and planet.