An eco-sensitive airline for an eco-sensitive country

I've been having a good time lately browsing through Traveling the Green Way, a site devoted to the pursuit of environmentally friendly and sustainable travel adventures.

The blog recently reported on what is claimed to be the world's most eco-friendly airline, the small and scrappy family-owned Nature Air, which flies in and around Costa Rica, a country known for its eco-travel possibilities.

By flying only small planes with industry-leading, fuel-efficient engines, and by offsetting 100 percent of its carbon emissions by protecting and reforesting tropical forests in southern Costa Rica, the airline lets eco-tourists fly without guilt. The airline says that since 2004, it has offset 20,000 tons of CO2 by protecting 200 hectares of forest.

Nature Air claims that it outputs as much carbon dioxide in one year as one commercial jet puts into the air from London to New York City in 10 days. That's an interesting stat that we'll have to take on faith.

To read more about the Nature Air mission, see its manifesto. Obviously it's easy for a tiny airline that flies small prop planes to operate in a more sustainable fashion than, say, American Airlines, but one of the big lessons here is that by replacing old engine technology with newer and more efficient engines, we'll make strides against emissions.

That's why the impending arrival of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is so important.

Don Willmott's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.