It’s kind of ironic – and by ironic I really mean annoying – when people try to do something good but miss the big picture. Take Paul McCartney for example. The former Beatle is a staunch vegetarian. I’m not sure if staunch is normally used to describe a vegetarian… generally I think of it more in terms of political parties. But that is just how much of a vegetarian the man is.

McCartney is a big supporter of the earth, the environment, and green causes in general. Though he seems to generally be referred to as a vegetarian, he might actually be a vegan, as it’s been noted that he doesn’t wear anything made of animal products. It would just depend on his specifics. So while Paul generally seems pretty good about walking the walk, he missed the big picture when he recently ordered a hybrid car (to be more environmentally friendly) from Lexus, which was then flown to the UK from Japan. Not shipped, flown.

The former Beatle has long been an outspoken advocate of environmental causes and animal rights. He is a vegetarian who won’t even wear leather shoes. But now he’s being criticized for having a hybrid Japanese car flown to him in Britain rather than having it sent by ship. It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. The car in question is an $158,000 Lexus LS 600h, a luxury sedan that offers both high performance and a reassuring “green” patina because it uses a hybrid system that relies on an electric motor at low speeds.

Best of all, it was to be a gift from the Lexus car company, which sponsored McCartney’s 2005 tour of the United States. But environmentalists quickly pointed out that the use of a cargo plane to deliver the car to England completely offset any environmental gains resulting from the car’s use. “It’s like driving the car 300 times around the world,” says Gary Rumbold, the director of the British branch of co2balance, which helps businesses and individuals gauge their carbon emissions footprint.

McCartney’s spokesman, Stuart Bell, confirmed that the musician had received the car as a gift and that it had been flown to Britain, but said he could not comment about the decision to use a plane until he had all the details.

[From the Huffington Post]

It’s possible McCartney wasn’t involved in the transportation arrangements of his car, but clearly someone wasn’t thinking the idea through clearly enough. Flying an environmentally friendly car to its final destination completely negates any good the car will ever do. Some sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me we will hear some ridiculous commentary from Heather Mills’ cow-chewing-its-cut mouth in the next few days.

Here’s Paul posing for photographers as he leaves home in the rain, sheltered by a large blue umbrella in London on April 24th. Images thanks to WENN.