Commercial airlines have found greener fuel solutions

For some time now, many airlines have been researching "green" fuels for their aircraft, which would provide a (technically) greener alternative to the more widely used fossil fuel propellants. Now, several major airlines -- as well as the U.S. Air Force -- have pledged to buy a total of 1 billion gallons of sustainable fuel from the aptly named Air Company. Air Company says it uses a process similar to photosynthesis, which plants use to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, to convert carbon dioxide into various types of alcohol and fuel. The entire process is powered by renewable energy sources such as water and sunlight. Expect Air Company to help offset more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. And as more airlines adopt sustainable fuels, it will have a clear positive impact on the industry's global CO2 emissions. While more sustainable aviation fuel is a worthwhile endeavor, it is not that the fuel itself will have a reduced environmental impact. While there is evidence that these types of alternative formulations reduce the density of contrails, which can slightly reduce their overall impact, the real environmental shift comes from the processes that make these fuels. Basically, the act of making jet fuel produces a lot of air pollution -- and Air Company's CO2 refining process, combined with its use of renewable energy, results in far less carbon emissions (relatively speaking). Another benefit of production is that it can be set up as a source of carbon emissions for power plants. Or potentially anything that produces a lot of carbon dioxide. So assuming the technology works as advertised, it effectively intercepts pollutants and turns them into fuel, in the process it claims to have a negligible carbon footprint