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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 F.R.E.E. Will LuxEco Editorial Assistant & Author of In The Spice Cabinet series Although marjoram carries a botanical name that denotes its grouping in the same genus as oregano (Origanum majorana), it does in fact have an alias of sorts to better distinguish between the two, Majorana hortensis. It is also, in culinary circles, distinguished from other less palatable varieties of the herb by the more common name ‘sweet’ or ‘knotted’ marjoram . From a purely physical standpoint oregano tends to be the hardier of two when discussing ideal growing condition with marjoram requiring much drier conditions, and more in the way of full sunlight in order to reap the best quality. The two related herbs are also distinguished between their flowering tops, oregano flowers typically being a pink/purple while marjoram flowers tend to be white.

By Dow-Yung Kou, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Have you ever been at a loss for what to do with tissue paper or wrapping paper that you get during the holidays. It usually just accumulates, and by the next year, the wrapping paper looks too tattered to reuse and you end up throwing it away. Well here is a perfect solution! Make ornaments out of them!

By Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World Yesterday, when BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress, many expected to hear him apologize for...

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant First up on our journey through Lotusland is the Lotus Garden: a center for spirituality. Lotus flowers are significant to many eastern cultures, such as the Buddhist and Hindu religions. This beautiful flower emerges from the murky depths of mud and contrasts the dark water with its vibrant petals.

Yes, the bracelets made of delicately rounded glass beads that look like raindrops dripping around the wrist are stunning.  I'm like a squirrel with...

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 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...

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Lotusland practices sustainable horticulture in the care of their gardens. This episode of the Lotusland series explores these practices in Madame's rose garden. Also learn how to make your own tea compost!

By: Lewis Perkins, Founder of Women Are Saving The World Now and LuxEco Advocate Article via Women Are Saving The World Now Last week, I had...

By: Lauren O'Neill, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Los Angeles foodies can rejoice because there is a new vegan restaurant in town, Sage Organic Vegan Bistro on the corner of Sunset and Logan in Echo Park. Formerly raw food restaurant Mooi, the space is now a dream team of organic vegan delicacies: healthy comfort food from Sage, and delicious, dairy-free ice cream from the popular KindKreme desserts (also in Studio City and Pasadena). With the owners of Millie’s in Silver Lake and a former chef of well-renowned vegan restaurant Flore, it’s no wonder the food is so good that it will satiate the taste buds of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike.

The Advent of Lignocellulosic Ethanol is a Biomass Boon By Derin Richardson, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant There are a myriad of alternative fuel breakthroughs that been discovered this century--hydrogen fuel cells, ethanol, biodiesel, etc.--but there is one, recently discovered energy source that you either may not have heard or know little of. Enter leaf biofuel. As it is scientifically labeled, lignocellulosic ethanol is the progeny of refining biomasses such as wood, grasses and/or any non-edible parts of a plant. It is a potentially sustainable and renewable biofuel, like using vegetable oil to produce biodiesel, however the insubordinate and resillient nature of this biomass make it problematic for industrial applications.

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Football, or soccer as we know it in America, really is the sport of the world. World cup matches...

By Caleb Penn author, producer, director and Jacob Breslauer, director of photography and editor. Caleb Penn Mocking Birds Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in...

... And let's lead the way  by action for a better tomorrow. As the world is spinning madly out of control getting grounded is sometimes...

Last month James Cameron was invited to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) fundraiser at FOX studios to discuss the meaning, the message and...

I was hoping to wear a white dress and walk into town to share my heartfelt joy with my friends. I wanted to roar like a white lion with pride and share the passion of OUR WIN TOGETHER.

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 Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEco Living and Beauty Expert In 2006, James and Nancy Chuda completed their labor of love: their Green Home under the "H" of the iconic Hollywood sign. Drawing from the couple's environmental activism and Jame's prolific career as a nationally board-certified architect specializing in the creation of non-toxic living and working environments, the Green Home is a culmination of many years of the Chuda's dedication to learning, living and advocating for a natural, environmentally-safe and sustainable lifestyle. However, going green didn't mean that their classic good taste would be sacrificed; their modern design would meet green architecture.

By Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden...

The meditation suite, powder room and terrace of the Green Home, was designed to reflect James and Nancy Chuda's love for Buddhism, Zen philosophy...

 By Allison Mowatt Courtesy of Live Healthy Live Green It's hard not to be aware of the numerous health benefits eating organically has on the...

Connected: Looking at love, death and technology in the 21st century Courtesy of Marketplace Listen to this Story Tiffany Shlain, technophile and filmmaker, discusses her new...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World He loves to travel! And we love...

By Rachel Sarnoff, Writer and Founder of EcoStiletto.com and MommyGreenest.com and LuxEco Advocate Who can get Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, Jenny McCarthy, Daryl...

Giving Birth to LuxEco Living LuxEcoLiving incorporates three basic principles; food, shelter, and love. Each attribute defines and identifies a new cultural paradigm shift....

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Grown in the sun and kissed by a babies breath I live...

New USDA regulations for organic milk have just been adopted earlier this month on February 12, 2010. Family farmers, animal rights activists and organic...

Hands on instruction in the garden transfers young students green learning at school to green living at home. Johnna Walker, the garden instructor, teaches the importance of sustainability. By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Larchmont Charter School, an alternative neighborhood school within LAUSD, takes green living to the future—to our children—with the implementation of green learning. Our precious earth is in their itty-bitty-but-quickly-growing hands, so best to start showing them how to take care of it, and themselves.

by Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Editorial Assistant EcoEmotions are very high right now.  There are a lot of fingers pointing across our headlines about the oil spill. ...

By Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World As citizens, we are cut out when it comes to our voices and...

By Kerin Van Hoosear, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of Seasonal Cooking with Kerin Perfect for autumnal cooking, try your hand at Roasted Butternut Squash Mac ‘N’ Cheese (and don't forget to buy your ingredients local and organic!) First, to roast the butternut squash you'll need: one hot oven 1 butternut squash (medium sized), peeled and cubed (about 1/2" x 1/2") 1/2 tsp of nutmeg 1 1/2 tsp sage salt and pepper olive oil

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.

LOHAS Second Annual Los Angeles Networking Event & Reception - Provides Forum for Green Business Leaders. LOHAS, the producers of the annual LOHAS Forum is...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World and contributing author Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc Dean...