The airline industry is high profile which makes us a target regardless of our actual impact. Any environmental impact we do have is FAR outweighed by the benefit to society.
This past week I had a nephew ask me "when is the airline industry going to go green"?
my response was the aviation has always been interested in efficiency. we were "green" before it was politically correct. We always wanted more range from a finite amount of on board fuel and in an industry with razor thin margins, airlines were always seeking cost savings.
No matter. All of our hard work to be efficient thus far won't satisfy the greenies. We are well past the point of diminishing return on becoming more efficient.
My guess is the future of the airline industry will look a lot like it was in the 1950's. Much smaller, very expensive, less frequency and only for the rich.