Lifestyle

By: Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com What sounds better than clean, green, eco-conscious energy produced from the natural power of ocean currents in a way that protects the environment, promotes energy independence and sustains a local economy with jobs? Harnessing the power of the ocean to generate abundant renewable and sustainable energy sounds pretty good to me. Sign me up! Ocean Renewable Power Company is one company that is looking to do just that. Using the same science and technology as wind turbines, ORPC has developed a modular system of Turbine Generator Units, or TGUs, that use rotating foils to power a central permanent magnet generator. While similar to wind turbines, this promising new technology offers exponential benefits as water is 800 times as dense and tides are much more consistent.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder Healthy Child Healthy World "Architect James Chuda's Green Home has been called the "Fabergé egg" of...

By Lush Huxley, Editorial Assistant Beth Nielsen Chapman is one such songwriter who has succeeded in the competitive field of modern music. You may not have heard of her, but her resume is stacked (as they say). She’s written for the likes of Willie Nelson, Elton John, and Mary Carpenter, and performed with country crooners Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt. Remember the Faith Hill song “This Kiss?” Yeah, she wrote that too. Beth’s very well respected and established among the songwriting community in Nashville, TN, where she makes her home. Her story is an unconventional one. In the 70s, Beth was being lauded among record company big shots as one of the songwriting world’s up-and-comers. Around 1979, her song “If I’d Only Known” appeared next to Bob Dylan’s “Slow Train” in the “Singles to Watch” section of industry magazines across the country. However, when her record failed to meet the expectations of the label, the big money people pulled the plug on her publishing deal. Perceiving her musical career as virtually terminated, Chapman entered a new chapter of her life as domesticated mother and housewife. But the songwriting bug stayed with her.

By Florence "Flip" Ross, LuxEco Advocate As I sit here, and gaze proudly at all my "going green" products, I feel I am doing something...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World  Gainey Winery Santa Ynez California It was truly a gift of nature! Standing...

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World I had the great fortune of meeting...

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel takes a step towards sustainability by housing a new species of guests. The plan called the...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World I was craving cheese. Not just that typical stinky cheese you find...

By Florence “Flip” Ross, LuxEco Advocate We are all familiar with the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” but when I travel through Israel I can’t help but think “When in Israel, do as the Israelis do.” How remarkable they are at accomplishing the impossible. When they tried to build a harbor in Ashdod, they called in all the experts they could think of to help them do it. The experts from Holland (whom for sure they thought could accomplish this, since their country too was below sea level) told them it was impossible. Imagine their disappointment, but not to be deterred they said: “Okay, we’ll do it ourselves,” and do it themselves they did.

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.

The Christmas season is upon us, and people everywhere are gearing up for the holiday. In her book, I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas; Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes That Use Less and Mean More, author and LuxEco Advocate, Anna Getty shares with us her ideas on how to create memorable traditions while taking small steps to reduce our carbon footprints, minimize waste, and creatively use what we already have.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Menopause is not inherited it's a fact of...

By Lacey Szczepanik, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant I was born into a generation which, when it comes to consuming products, ‘Built to Last’ was long...

By Lacey Szczepanik, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant I have two beautiful pet babies; Diggs, my proud, empathetic and cautious boxer, and Mo, my silly, sleepy Staffordshire terrier. I take my role as their guardian very seriously. When my pet Diggs was two years old, he was diagnosed with mast cell tumors, a form of cancer prevalent among boxers. I was devastated. I went through all the stages of grief. Denial; “Excuse me Mrs. Veterinarian, my dog has a small ‘bump’ on his side. Bump. Not lump. Lumps are scary. This is simply a ‘bump’.” Anger... directed more at God than anyone in particular. I lost Diggs’ brother much too early in life and found it cruel to be faced with another premature goodbye. Bargaining. Depression; full on who-needs-food and why-would-I-get-out-of-my-pajamas-or-leave-the-house-when-I-could-sit here-and-stare-at-my-beautiful-dog kind of depression. And finally Acceptance, and by acceptance I mean he’s alive today and he’ll be alive tomorrow SO THERE. Maybe the anger and denial are still sprinkled on top of the acceptance. A shocking 20-25% of our furry four legged pets end up dying prematurely due to Cancer. (Perdue University Department of Veterinarian).

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Imagine walking into a fast-food restaurant with a menu sans greasy cheeseburgers, replaced by roasted chicken wraps and pork-and-sweet potato...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant I came across this MSN health article on walking and, as an avid walker myself (I walk an average of 12 miles per week), I had to share what I learned. Regular brisk walking can do wonders for your health, and it’s so simple! No gym fees, nowhere to drive to, no certain time to be at that aerobics class. You can just walk out the door at your favorite time of day, pop in a set of headphones, and tour the neighborhood. Research shows there are 8 incredible benefits to this type of moderate exercise.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Imagine if the very thing you used and depended on to protect you from skin cancer was capable of exacerbating the growth of epidermal lesions and tumors. Well that’s what the Environmental Working Group claims may be the case. A recent study shows that retinyl palmitate, a synthetic form of vitamin A, is carcinogenic on skin exposed to the sun.

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World In 2000, many children's health advocates applauded Congress's decision to...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Health World Lead in her Lipstick? Not Meryl! Not in real life. But...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World "Reiner's new flick reaps a pot of gold...

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant There is so much joy in bringing home a Christmas tree each year to mark the beginning of the holiday season. But there is a distinct sadness that comes with the sight of those trees discarded on sidewalks after the New Year begins. What if there was a way to enjoy having a live Christmas tree that you didn’t have to throw out only weeks later?

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Health World Getting older. It's not easy. Nora always found a way to...

By: Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant for Resplendent Repurposing series If you have seniors on your gift list, you may be struggling with what to buy them. The best, and greenest answer may be: Nothing, as in no-thing. It’s the old story: What to get the person who has everything? Most older people have more junk than they’ll ever need – and are trying to get rid of it. Very often they’re downscaling, going from a multi-bedroom house to a smaller one, an apartment or into assisted living. The last thing they want is one more dust-catcher. So don’t buy them any, unless they’ve specifically requested it. (Ever wonder what percentage of landfill contents are made up of unwanted gifts? I’ll bet the number is staggering.)

By Lush Huxley, LuxEco Editorial Assistant do something about this disaster? While BP is trying to make it look like everything is under control they are foolishly dismissing the people that are ready and willing to solve the problem. BP shunned these guys in their May 21st press release, where they publicly asked “Individuals and organizations… to discontinue the collection of hair for the hair boom.” Considering this rejection, one might expect Summer and her crew to flip the bird to beurocracy and start a renegade clean-up on their own. The truth is, however, that at the moment BP has all the dumpsters on lock down. To work around this, the team is working on getting contracts for an incinerator to dispose of the dirty booms. They are holding back the clean-up until they have a legally and logistically sound way to dispose of the refuse, which is good news for those who hate seeing the good guys end up with criminal records.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Santa Ynez California, twilight time It's a marriage of two of the most celebrated...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and  co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Artist Mary Nohr Courtesy of LuxEcoLiving "She's got your back...

By Karen Barnes, VP Insight, @barneshead courtesy of The Shelton Group I’m a Tom Friedman groupie. So when I saw his new book, That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back, I grabbed it in the airport bookstore yesterday. I had a short flight, so I’ve only read 65 pages – but my brain’s already churning and connecting dots about economic sustainability.

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 Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant I recently moved into a new apartment, and with that came a massive scrub down of both old digs and new. My roommates and I spent hours cleaning the old place after moving everything out, but the products we used were hardly eco or health-friendly. When scrubbing the Comet-filled bathroom tub, the smell was so overwhelming that I nearly passed out. While cleaning bathrooms isn’t normally an enjoyable task, it doesn't have to be one that puts people’s health and safety at risk.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Hotel Cheval celebrates the bold beauty and history of legendary 17th...

This article originally appeared in  The New York Times The ‘Busy’ Trap By TIM KREIDER If you live in America in the 21st century you've probably...

By F.R.E.E. Will, LuxEco Editorial Assistant, Author of In The Spice Cabinet series The purpose of this article and the series as a whole is to examine the ingredients that go into some of your favorite dishes, particularly the benefits some of the more familiar (and some not so familiar) herbs and spices contain.

Author of Family Dinner and Producer of Inconvenient Truth, Laurie David shares her concern about antibiotics in food production and what that means for the overall health concerns. By Laurie David, Author, Producer and LuxEco Advocate Originally posted on Huffington Post I worry. A lot. My worry gene works overtime. A doctor once told me it's called an "overactive checker" (or as I like to think of it, my OC). As far as afflictions go, it's not terrible. OC's are good to have around. They see danger from miles away. They pay close attention. Motherhood can be particularly tough on OC's. We know too well that there's no such thing as "out of sight out of mind." But over the years I have come to terms with my checker, and now consider it a trusted friend. It was my checker that helped me raise my kids with a minimum of cuts and scratches, rear three dogs from eight-week-old puppies, and eventually opened my eyes to the looming dangers of global warming. It's the same trusted checker that is screaming, "Wake up! Wake up!" on the issue of antibiotic resistance.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World   Have you ever had a center stage moment when you...

By Nancy Chuda Co-founder of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World. Recently, Jim and I payed a visit to Michael and Karin Cronan in Oakland California. After a great meal and three hours of delightful conversation, Michael handed us a gift. It came wrapped in a magnificent cardboard envelope, a serious Cronan design. We opened the meticulously wrapped present to find white linen paper with an embossed design, one that only Michael could have conceived. On the design the letters SHARE. were placed in the center of the most magnificent art work. In the giving spirit the Cronan's have brought to the world, through their genius work in branding names like Kindle, Tivo, and now Healthy Child Healthy World, we are the proud recipients of yet another one of their aspirational ideas. SHARE.