Lifestyle

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant You are terrified and frantic. You cram yourself, with six other women, into a three-foot by four-foot bathroom in...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World    The Point was spectacular in ever sense of the word....

By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World Enter Wael Ghonim, a charismatic young Google executive who helped launch the protests in Tahrir Square. His heroism validates what a real social network can do. Sorkin and Facebook aside, certainly not as newsworthy, will win the Oscar for best Original Screenplay not because of a few Harvard grads, but Google. The Umpire of all networks which will always win... it just makes adsense! Life imitates with purpose as the world watches Wael's Facebook page, as he herds the hordes of young brave Egyptians as they face off in the streets urging President Hosni Mubarak to step down. The cacophony of people, police, military, women, men and press from around the globe could not visually hold the power or the purpose that the Internet is providing.

By Basil Vernon, LuxEco Editorial Assistant As we all know it, summer finally came to an ended, and going back to school was in the wind. For some students the end of summer means leaving the nest and venturing off to new lives in college. Going green in a college environment not only makes life a little more comfortable, it also allows for trends to be set for a mass group of people to follow, which ultimately impacts the ecosystem on a grander scale. Here are some green friendly products that are essential to a college students life. Before moving on to your campus, you made a good choice by stopping at your local Target and picked the Schwinn Gateway City Bike. This bike is unique in that it is made out of 93% recyclable material. Honestly, having a bike on campus makes a great impact, it gets you to class on time, takes you into town with ease, and its an amazing way to exercise. At the end of the day a bikes’ main contribution are is gas emissions, and not paying the cost of having a car oncampus.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant For those who spend the extra dough to shop organically, it is fair to expect that a market touting the sale of only organic goods should supply consumers with fodder and non-fodder products on an even keel. One such market, the well-known and widely shopped Whole Foods, is making sure those expectations are met. As of June 1, 2011, the organic grocery chain will require that all personal care products and cosmetics making an “organic” claim can prove it.

By Merry Elkins, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Best known for being a star-maker, Ken Kragen, who is also an author, teacher, and film and television producer, has charted the career course of some our most celebrated entertainers including Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Tricia Yearwood, Olivia Newton John, The Bee Gees, The Smothers Brothers, Harry Chapin and more; but nothing he has accomplished in his illustrious career has ever achieved the significance or the scope of his philanthropic work. For breathing life into Hands Across America in the 1980s where young and old alike joined hands across the country to call attention to hunger and homelessness here in the US; for setting in motion and organizing the recording We Are the World, that brought together 45 prominent recording artists including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Bruce Springsteen to raise $64 million to feed people in Africa and for founding USA for Africa to distribute the money, he received the United Nations Peace Medal, something few civilians receive and an honor for which he is most proud.

By Kammie Daniels, LuxEco Editorial Assistant When Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEcoLiving accepted an invitation to interview Salman Rushdie and review his new children's book, Luca and The Fire Of Life, she asked if I would cover an event celebrating Laurie David's new cookbook, The Family Dinner. It’s not every day I get to dust off my shiny black heels and drive out to lovely Bel-Air to mingle with Los Angeles’ rich and famous. Who knew I would wind up right next to Tom Hanks when I arrived, never mind moments later having the beloved Hollywood actor playfully popping his head into my camera lens. What an amazing start to the night. I felt honored to be in attendance, amidst prominent supporters taking every opportunity to congratulate Laurie David on her debut cookbook, The Family Dinner.

By James and Nancy Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World "One of the most beautiful experiences of our lives! The Dorchester Collection's...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World           The movie, Fifty Shades of Grey is meant to be...

By Alanna Rosette Brown, a writer/filmmaker, LuxEcoLiving Advocate, and author of Moonpennies. Follow her blog at alannarosette.com Make a New Years Resolution: Stand-Up and Walk...

By Lush Huxley, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Are you a junkie for culture? Feel an aching nostalgia for a time you’ve never known? Are the...

Silicone Valley start up, Bloom Energy, endeavors to make personal power plant boxes available for every household. Founder and CEO of Bloom Energy, inventor and...

By Alanna Brown, a LuxEco Living Advocate, creator of Brown House Online, and author of Moonpennies   We all love the feel of a new paperback...

By Michelle Dennis, LuxEcoLiving Marketing Assistant and author of "COLON TALK", a cancer survivor's blog. The day I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, I asked...

By  Florence “Flip” Ross a LuxEcoLiving Contributor         I never thought I could disclose My deepest feelings, held inside To put them down in honest prose Would...

By Nancy and James Chuda founder of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World The Batcheller Mansion Inn is one of America's most historic...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant (originally published on eHow.com) In the month of April 2010, the United States spent $25.5 billion on electricity, using a total of 266.3 billion kilowatthours. While those numbers include retail sales to residential, industrial and commercial sectors, household owners have the power to drastically decrease electricity use overall by dropping the residential portion. Home dwellers have many options for reducing their monthly electric bill while simultaneously helping the environment.

Santa Barbara County Los Alamos- Bell Street Farm LuxEcoLiving photo credits Mozy into town... you've arrived in Los Alamos where you will discover a three block...

By Amanda Nisenson, LuxEco Advocate “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” This Robert Frost quote has stayed with me from the first day I heard it in eighth grade English class. It has continued to serve as a metaphor throughout my evolving journey as an artist. My road less traveled is calling me in new directions. I need to keep the faith and know the opportunities will come in order for me to reach my goal. It is the relationship and connection with the audience that drives my performance, inspiring hope through music and bringing joy through song. “Operatunity” is about transformation through music. Our journeys, no matter how difficult, must be accepted as life is accepted. I am grateful for my “gifts”, and for the chance to help others find joy in the moment.

By: Annie Huang, LuxEco Living Marketing Assistant Lighting of the Christmas tree is certainly an event that is embraced in major cities around the world. But what is more inspiring besides being part of these events, is to know that Brisbane Council put in a lot of effort in preserving the energy by adapting solar power to the shindy. Not only that, this tree has earned its name as the World's Largest Solar Powered Christmas Tree! So after learning from Jessica about the importance of having live pine trees at home, it's only another step to explore the implementation of solar energy at your residents. What a party it would be for your family and guests if they could bath in nature from your homes this Christmas!

LA Pollution: It may not go away any time soon! By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Los Angeles: home smog contamination, congested freeways, smog, and long commutes. “No body walks in LA” as that famous pop song of the 80's astutely observes. And for the most part, they are right: no body does walk in LA. Which is creating more and more pollution in LA. Even the most casual observer covering ground in this megalopolis will take note of how few pedestrians there are. It is a car culture; people sometimes cover 40 + miles in a day just to get to work and back.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World When you walk in the doors of the Brown Butter...

It's no secret that when plants are harvested for their life sustaining and nutritional qualities that every part of the plant that can be used is.......Of the various plants that serve multiple purposes, the nutmeg plant is the only plant that yields not just one, but two spices.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World One of my favorite Mexican dishes is  Chiles Rellenos or chiles...

by Jessica Borges, LuxEco Editorial Assistant As you’re staring blankly into your “so last year” closet full of drab clothing that you just can’t bear to...

By Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director/CEO, Healthy Child Healthy World and a LuxEcoLiving Advocate   Is there a link between the environment and illnesses such as...

Biofuels changed his audience. After bringing music to the masses, green start-up owner converts his mission to bring alternative fuels to your car Jeff Phillips - a D.I.Y Kind of Guy By Jeff Phillips, Biofuel Engineer and LuxEco Advocate biofuels_alternative_fuel_technology My name is Jeff Phillips and I run D.I.Y Biofuels in Los Angeles. I was once in the music biz, and was doing pretty well for myself, until I became more educated about the startling environmental problems that we are currently faced with. So I basically left the rat race of the music industry after doing some research of my own into alternative fuel technology. Films like 'An Inconvenient Truth' and 'Who Killed the Electric Car' particularly affected me.

Christmas will be here before you bat an eye... or two. I found something on Etsy that I really treasure. A hand made Garden...

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Imagine a world without fossil fuel powered cars! This is what the Los Angeles chapters of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects teamed up to do when they created Rail LA, a group dedicated to "healing the wounds of past infrastructure projects" and helping transition from "an automobile based society to a transit based one." They seek to raise awareness about the myriad of benefits that high speed rail can have for Southern California, such as a reduction in emissions, mitigation of traffic congestion, and countless other environmental concerns related to society’s daily reliance on fossil-fuel-powered transit.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Luxury for Less. The most beautiful authentic jewelry, custom designed, one...

By Wendy Ross Kaplan a LuxEcoLiving Advocate and contributor You pack your 12-year old a lunch, go through the last minute parent-love/instruction exercise, hug, wave,...

Photography: Lara Kastner for Metropolis In each of our lives, we are given a unique set of gifts, challenges and even obstacles. ...

By Bernadette Bowman, Comedienne and LuxEco Advocate who writes the LIFE GOES RETROGRADE series. I said “goodbye” to my best pal last Thursday. As you may recall from my...

By Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, www.EcoStiletto.com and LuxEco Advocate Everyone knows that air travel is bad, bad, bad for the environment. But according to IATA, the...

By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate With as much time as we spend in our homes these days, we want to create a home that is a retreat, that is what we speak to, but we want our retreat to be safe so this is definitely going to be an option. Certainly they don’t have to take it all the way to major extremes, but they can do little things that will make a huge difference in their health, their design and in the environment.