Air travel gets a lot of coverage both for being pretty environmentally unfriendly, but also for the ways airlines are attempting to lessen their impact on the environment. And this post comes from the latter camp, as Southwest airlines is now testing, and soon will debut, their new Green Plane. What is a Green Plane, you ask? Well, Southwest will tell you! From Southwest:

The Green Plane is an innovative idea that marries efficiency, environmentally responsible products, Customer comfort, and reduced waste and weight – it is a flying testament to our philosophy that environmental decisions make good business sense. All these initiatives combined will equate to a weight savings of almost five pounds per seat, thus saving fuel and reducing emissions, along with adding recyclable elements to our cabin interior and reducing waste.

Most of the innovations on the plane are actually in the cabin of the plane and will have no real cosmetic impact to the flying experience–things such as environmentally-friendly carpeting and seats, and lighter life vest pouches. They are small changes that, in the long run, will save considerable amounts of fuel, which then will not be released into the environment. As long as airline travel isn’t going anywhere soon, at least some baby steps are helping. Now, if airplanes would just find a way for me not to be cooped in a tiny room with over a hundred other people in tiny seats for five hours at a time…

photo credit: Pylon757’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons