The amount of energy/resources expended on the current financial system is far worse than mining bitcoin at home or in a data center. Printing new bills, removing counterfeit bills from circulation, armored vehicle transportation, etc. amount to far more waste than Bitcoin mining produces.
However, when you consider the long term outlook on mining as a consensus mechanism and means of ensuring network security compared to some of the methods used in altcoins (proof of stake, delegated proof of stake, ripple payment protocol, etc.) what is your outlook for Bitcoin specifically? I ask because I was thinking that just because one method is less wasteful than the current version does not make it the optimal solution.
Bitcoin has a solid foundation as the most popular and widely used cryptocurrency, but will it maintain this position if it still relies on PoW or will another consensus mechanism need to be introduced to distribute the mining process among more individuals? Data center mining operations obviously have a vested interest in maintaining the current system and will not want to change, but for the health of the network something will need to change before only a select few can afford the equipment necessary to mine.