It is great that the big players can talk about all the great things they are going to do, but sometimes it is the little guys that quietly get off their bums and do something about the issues before them. Nature Air being a case in point.

Long before Virgin Airlines announced they were maybe, gonna, look at alternative aviation fuels this tiny little fleet of seven planes walked their talk. They took measurable steps to become, what they term as, the only zero emission airline in the world. Last year Outside magazine explained how they went about: Nature Air first uses its yearly fuel consumption to calculate emissions, some 4,650 tons in 2006. Then, working with the Costa Rican government, it assigns that number a monetary value.

When the company started the project, Nature Air offset its 2004 emissions with a $12,322 investment in reforestation and habitat-protection projects on the Osa Peninsula, one of Central Americas most biologically diverse rainforests. More recently the airline was looking to support alternative energy projects, including ethanol and pig waste (methane, maybe?) as another way of offsetting their clients travel.

They also note that that their fleet of mostly de Havilland Twin Otters, are acclaimed to be the quietest and most fuel efficient engine option available.

But they do appreciate the very real irony of flying off on nature trips (their staple service) with all the air travel that involves. That is why the company has been represented at the Global Ecotourism Conference currently underway in Oslo, Norway.There is no other industry that has more to gain or to lose from climate change, said Alexi Huntley, Marketing Manager.