It appears the French are hot on the trot of the eco revolution as they enforce yet another earth friendly tax. France will soon place a tax on all throwaway plates and cutlery that are not recyclable in order to encourage consumers to choose greener alternatives and buy more eco-friendly products. The tax that consumers pay will apply to non-recyclable cardboard. For plastic tableware the costs will be levied on distributors and importers.

The environmental minister of France has said that a similar tax may soon be added to electronics and household accessories such as fridges, washing machines, televisions, batteries and wooden furniture; though this has not yet been confirmed. Fingers crossed it will be passed - it's regulations like these that create the, if you like, forced incentive for designers, manufacturers and consumers to create and choose the most eco-friendly products.

France has already imposed a tax on the most heavily polluting cars. Under the new ‘bonus-malus' system the greenest vehicles get a tax break.

Be it in the French countryside or the English the next time I go for a picnic I know I'll be packing the silverware!

Could be a terrific headline splashed across the front of international newspapers if all goes well for a US rocket scientist. The NASA researcher has sent ninety of the bright yellow bath toys into the middle of the fastest moving Greenland glacier for an apparently very sophisticated experiment to figure out why glaciers speed up in summer.

Each rubber duck is labelled with an e-mail address and the words "science experiment" and "reward" in three languages so that if they are found and returned scientists will know where the water ends up.

The ducks have been placed in the Jakobshavn Glacier, which is believed to be the source of the iceberg that sank the Titanic in 1912. This glacier discharges about seven per cent of all ice coming from Greenland. As the planet warms this ice sheet will continue to melt contributing to rising sea levels.

To date there are only theories about why glaciers speed up in summer as much of the activity is believed to occur on the underside of the glacier where researchers are unable to reach. The ducks will be sent with a probe that contains instruments which will hopefully inform scientists of the inner realms of the glacier.

A few year's ago there was a surge in the number of bottles on the wine shop shelf with metal screw-caps. It looked a bit strange on wine but as we were told at the time they were better for the environment in comparison to cork, which apparently damaged vegetation as it was extracted from the earth. So we bought it.

It seems this is not the case at all.

"People may have heard misguided campaigns before... there was one about eight years ago, claiming cork harvesting was destroying a vital habitat. In fact, it's preserving it." Vanessa Linforth, who manages the Soil Association's forestry programme for the Mediterranean recently commented to the BBC.

Cork is natural. It comes from stripping oak trees of the inner layers of bark which then grows back for farmers to strip a decade or so later. This is done gently to avoid permanent damage to the tree trunk so that the same trees can be used time and time again. They are not cut down and surrounding vegetation is not impacted as has been believed.

Wildlife surrounding the trees can, if fact, flourish. Farming cork is actually quite a sustainable practice and has prevented desertification from creeping in to areas of the Mediterranean where it is sadly becoming more prevalent.

Metal screw caps and plastic bottle stops are not the greener answer. They also don't make for a better tasting wine. Wine is able to breathe a little when a cork is used as a very small amount of oxygen seeps through, allowing a fine wine to age better.

Harrison Ford is working with Conservation International to help save flora and fauna from extinction the globe over. In one trailer for the Lost There, Felt Here campaign Ford illustrates, by way of beauty therapist and a pot of wax, how the destruction of rainforests on the other side of the world can harm us too.

Earth's survival depends on, as Ford describes, the planets ‘biodiversity hotspots' found in only one percent of the world's surface. These hotspots, like the Amazon, are critical to our survival. It's the millions of species of plants and animals worldwide that provide food and medicine which cleans our air and water, keeping us and the planet alive.

You can help protect forests and help curb climate change by learning more about sustainable conservation and by supporting organisations like the World Land Trust. Every £50 you donate to the WLT (Sir David Attenborough's a big supporter) you will save one acre of forest.

Give up coffee from the local cafe for a month and have enough to protect a bit of earth's diversity, wax your chest... and, well, you'll probably only end up with a red front and a Ford-esque squirm.

A gift of flowers, especially when there's no particular reason or occasion for them brings immediate joy to the soul. Of course the potted variety is eco best as they last longer but if it's not quite the effect you were after why not opt for organically grown flowers instead?

Organic flowers, especially locally grown ones, are better for the environment as they use fewer insecticides and pesticides (better for the soil) plus travel fewer miles (less carbon emissions in the atmosphere).

Many florists and supermarkets buy their flowers from overseas. Poor trade standards mean that in places like Columbia, women are paid very little to cut and package flowers that have been dowsed in chemicals to help them grow quicker and last longer. Organically grown flower companies have tighter restrictions on their suppliers and are more involved with regulatory bodies like the Soil Association.

The Organic Flower Company aims to source as many flowers as possible from within the UK. They encourage local flower farmers by supporting them in conversion to organic status.

Eco Bouquet is another British flower company committed to socially and environmentally responsible farming. They use organic or in transition to being organic suppliers, have a no air miles policy and a total ban on toxic pesticides. They're also carbon neutral.

If you've never smelled a freshly picked organic flower you're missing out. The scent of a Lily can last for weeks in your home - especially if you keep refreshing the water and nipping the end of the stems with a pair of scissors every couple of days.