Good news!

The Global Insufferability Index (GII) is down slightly today.

For those of you not familiar with the GII, it`s the measure of the amount of holier-than-thou self-righteousness in the atmosphere, and it experienced a sharp drop when we learned about the Greenpeace executive who commutes by air between Luxembourg where he lives and Amsterdam where he works, 400 kilometres one way.

As a result of his commute, Pascal Husting, the environmental organization`s international program director, has been personally responsible for dumping 7.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the last two years.

This from an organization that says “In terms of damage to the climate, flying is 10 times worse than taking the train.” But Husting doesn’t want to endure the 12-hour return trip, so he flies, (as would any sane person).

As you might imagine, his colleagues are gasping a bit for air. All over the planet, Greenpeace faces are red.

In his blog, the executive director of Greenpeace UK asks the question: “What kind of compromises do you make in your efforts to try to make the world a better place?”

And then, without waiting for an answer he may not like, he answers his own question: “For what it’s worth, I don’t think we’ve crossed the line here at Greenpeace.”

Of course, that doesn’t clear the air for all those Greenpeace volunteers who have made the hard choices and now find themselves underwriting airline travel for their trusty stewards of the environment.  One guy, who has volunteered since the 80s, calls the situation “unbelievable.”

So now they know what it’s like for the rest of us: It ain’t easy being green.  If they were really honest, the rainbow warriors of Greenpeace would add up ALL of their carbon-emitting activities. And then stay home, which is probably the greenest thing they could do.

As much as there’s a temptation to gloat, we have to be careful about the GII. And we don’t want to discourage all those people who are trying to save the planet. We just want them to ask: Are we part of the solution…or part of the problem?

Other organizations are quietly doing their best to put environmental standards in places that don’t require a circus act – in construction, waste management, transportation, the food industry, etc. They don’t make headlines, but they do make it possible for 7.2 billion people to make it through another day on earth.

Global warming is one of the great challenges of the age. But it’s not the only one. Insufferability is right up there. Thanks to Pascal Husting and his carboniferous commute, Greenpeace, going forward, might be a little more down to earth.