Can Bankruptcy Save the Planet?

In light of the recent news about Greece's economic troubles and possible default I started thinking about the impact of a U.S. bankruptcy. The debt and deficit are growing rapidly and some people feel that it is expanding beyond the economic capacity of the country's ability to repay.  It would be safe to say that this would be economic Armageddon.  However, if the economic model that causes many environmental problems were to collapse would it save the planet?  Consumption, waste and pollution would drop dramatically around the world.  Resource extraction would slow down and help reduce the environmental damage in many parts of the world.  Some would argue that it wouldn't matter much since most of us would be starving because we're broke and have no way to do anything to get money.  I'm not really sure what would happen although I think the buildup to such an event would be long enough that some could prepare.  An interesting scenario to contemplate and maybe one we will experience sooner than we hope.