An article over at Treehugger may not be exactly Steampunk, but it will warm the heart of any Steampunk.

Zeppelins – Air Travel of the Future?

As reader Matt Summers puts it:

“….the concept designs are decidedly lacking in copper and it’s lovely alloys as well as wood. There are lightweight bamboo based composites which are exceptionally strong and with a proper veneer of woods which have more of a soul they are aesthetically pleasing as well. The copper and brass need not be the great heavy masses which would challenge the lighter than air concept. Their presence though is needed. The technology of today might please the eye or the tip of the finger for a moment, but the the design which does not leave you feeling empty comes from another age:

• Wood with a soul which can resonate with your own.
• Metal with an inner fire that makes it glow even when cool to the touch.
• Buttons which are buttons and not pads or pictures to occupy the fingers as well as the mind.
• Machines which even without power or an operator to run them have an identity and occupy sight, touch and thought.
• Airships that want to fly and if released would climb skyward and explore the skies and the winds on their own.