In this Youtube interview, Canadian environmentalists David Suzuki and Jim Hoggan lay out the dire situation with public apathy, in both Canada and the United States, 

over the state of the environment and apparent ignorance of the seriousness of our situation.  The Vietnamese Buddhist meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh listens carefully to their analysis of the situation and then says calmly and forcefully – “You have to accept that this civilization can be destroyed. Not by something outside, but by ourselves. Many civilizations have been destroyed in the past, and it may take a million years to re-create another one on this planet.”

Thich Nhat Hanh then goes on to explain that if you allow despair to take over, you have no strength to do anything at all. But if you practice meditation so that you have peace in yourselves, becoming free of despair and anger, recognizing that even if civilization is destroyed, you can accomplish something.