Hoarding fiat currency will always end worse than slowly trading it for assets that hold or increase in value. All the while: government money loses value by design. Attempting to time a crash and call the bottom is more akin to gambling than investing.
China has over 4 times the population of the US and pollutes a little over twice what we do. Which is incredible considering they make all the crap we buy. Per capita emissions should be the only way to discuss who is making strides.