I giggled self-consciously through most of Audi’s lauded or lambasted (depending on which media you follow) Green Police Superbowl ad. Of course, it’s intended to poke fun at the eco-fascism that many enviros are accustomed to being accused of. And it does make the point that much of the simple things we do are…well…harmful.

And it’s intended to be over the top. To show that being hip and green can start as simply as choosing a more fuel-efficient car. So why the nervous tittering from me? Well…I’m more like the Green Police than I’d like to admit.

I’ve been known to retrieve recyclables out of the garbage and demand to know who put them there. I’ve occasionally interrogated my six-year-old about whether she composted her banana peel or threw it away. I lecture my children about the perils of climate change when they whine about riding bikes instead of driving to school. In short, I’m (occasionally) a vitriolic eco-shrew. My daughter put it best the other day when she asked why she couldn’t just not care “and be happy like everyone else.”

Point taken, if grudgingly  If my green policing is making us all miserable (and I suspect it is, including me), then perhaps it’s time to take a page out of Audi’s playbook and have some fun. I can still compost. And recycle. And ride my bike. But I don’t need to issue citations and deliver lectures at every transgression. Note to self: The world has enough hot air. What it needs is a cool head.