With scientists believing that the tipping point - where climate change will damage the planet irrevocably - will come in the next decade, reducing your personal levels of carbon dioxide contribution is a must. Lynas shows you how, from not buying fruit and veg with air miles to viewing business trips as a waste of time as opposed to something prestigious.

DREAMCHASERS Evelyn Forde and Maedhbh McDonagh spent three months as volunteers in an orphanage in Hortolova and the photographs they took during their time there have gone on display in an exhibition, Dream Big, Little One. Forde and McDonagh went to Russia with the charity To Russia with Love which was founded by Debbie Deegan in 1998 and has initiated healthcare and educational programmes in several orphanages in the region. See it at Foodlife, on the first floor of St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin, for the month of February.

ROLY ROVER Victoria Stilwell is the new Barbara Woodhouse, albeit a much more glamorous one. Actually, if she told us to lie down and roll over, we probably would, such is her air of authority. Her new book, Fat Dog Slim, addresses the problem of corpulent dogs - no joking matter considering that an estimated 40% of dogs in the UK anyway are overweight. An easy read, and some of the cutest pictures ever.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST It's not new - in fact, it's been open since last October - but it was only when we checked out the Rock Chic exhibition in the National Museum at Collins Barracks that we discovered Soldiers and Chiefs, which is absolutely fascinating. Tracing the history of the Irish at war, both at home and abroad since 1550, it has unique artefacts including the republic flag that flew over the GPO during the 1916 Rising and Spanish pirates' playing cards from 1850. It's a brutal reminder of the devastating effects of war (30,000 Irish lives were lost in World War One) but for women like Florence Lea, it gave her the amazing chance to improve her economic situation, swapping dressmaking for making shells in the Liffey dockyard munitions factory in 1917.

BRIEF LOVE Think very carefully before you give underwear as a gift this Valentine's Day because it can all go horribly wrong. Boys, stick with Agent Provocateur or La Perla.

Girls, pick up some jontoms.

One hundred per cent fine rib cotton, no gape fly (or is that too much information? ), both the boxers and briefs come in white, slate and olive and there are some nice matching vests and tees available too. In Arnotts and Avoca, from Euro12.

LOAD OF CROCK People Will Always Need Plates is the fantastic name of an equally fantastic company, selling witty and stylish tableware that is the direct antithesis, it says, to the current proliferation of cheap and disposable design. We love the tea towels and children's dining sets, as well as the six English bone china plates, depicting 1930s Modernist London. It also does a wonderful selection of cake stands called Me Old China, which are two- and three-tiered cake stands made from the odds and ends of dinner services that even charity shops can't usually get rid of.

Visit www. peoplewillalways needplates. co. uk and gaze in wonder.

STAR COXED LOVERS Have you heard of Starsky and Cox yet? If not, you soon will. Stella Starsky and Quinn Cox are astrologers to the (ahem) stars, such as Jade Jagger, Marc Jacobs and Scarlett Johansson, and they've also started a new column in Image magazine. Their book, Sextrology - the Astrology of Sex and the Sexes looks at the various zodiac sex signs, with indepth analysis. The duo are making an appearance here on 20 and 21 February when the Starsky + Cox Cosmic Love Clinic comes to Harvey Nichols First Floor Bar, Dundrum.

They'll be welcoming singles and couples and there are still some appointments available.

Call 01 2910488 for a consultation.

OFF YOUR CHOCKER The 'Become an M&M' website is the most puerile waste of time and for that we make absolutely no apologies.

Basically, the site allows you to create your own M&M character, accessorise it as you will, call it a name (we went with Princess Mushmouth the Great) and then let it star in a home movie or take a picture of it in an exotic location. You can then email it on to your friends and drive them insane.

Sometimes, you've just got to go with stupid.

Check out www.becomeanmm. com.