Low cost air travel is soaring (pun intended) and Europe’s working class contingent have become the new jetsetters of the region. Increased air travel for shorter distances across the European continent, however, has created a whole new set of issues on the carbon emissions front. Even with the increase in fuel prices, in many cases these airlines make it cheaper to travel by air than by train.

Low cost carriers are growing at 9 percent a year, and from an environmental point of view that is a problem, said Christian Brand, a researcher at Oxford University who specializes in the mathematical modeling of transportation emissions. Their cheap prices encourage more travel.

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Woody Harrelson apparently forgot his vegan shoes and belt as part of his Cannes Film Festival ensemble last week. When his assistants couldn’t find replacements for them, he had the accessories flown to France. Says Ecorazzi:

“Now, in the scheme of things, having an extra pair of shoes and a belt on an overnight FedEx plane that was bound for France anyways is not going to kill a polar bear. But it’s the environmentally insensitive request from someone who truly lives the green lifestyle that has us puzzled. And that’s a first coming from someone like Harrelson.”

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Are your travel habits forcing you to fly the unfriendly skies? Flying on a jet airplane isn’t exactly the best way to reduce your carbon footprint. A roundtrip flight from New York to Los Angeles creates between 2 and 3 tons of CO2 per passenger. Unfortunately, unless you have two weeks to drive across country each way in your Tesla Roadster, your travel is going to put a strain on Mother Nature. Taking a plane is an occasionally necessary evil in our otherwise green-conscious lives. Still, there are ways you can fly smarter. Check out these suggestions for reducing your travel-related carbon impact from LiveEarth.org:

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