Maybe it'll be the end of the world because we think it will be.
Think about it, people believe the world is going to end so they think there would be no point in living, so they go out and do whatever the f:)ck they want, millions get killed, millions get arrested, millions do things that are harmful to the environment, going much further than simply littering. People are going naked in public, stealing cars, setting houses on fire, this is how I see it.
If people got it through their minds that the world will NOT end on 2012, maybe it won't.