Apalling and despicable, but suprising? Not in the least.
Actually, this picture clearly communicates how the left views patriotism and loyalty to America. They consider "man made" global warming to be significantly more important than respecting the American flag and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that have died to protect it. In fact, in the case of this photo, they view the flag as a kind of obstacle to things that really matter - planting trees to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Patriotism, love for America, and the American flag is considered to them obstacles to progressivism.
What brings me the most humor is the liklihood that Time magazine is completely oblivious to their jaw-dropping degree of anti-Americanism. They have completely alienated themselves from normal, patriotic America with this photo.