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By Nancy Chuda Founder of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World For those of you who have never been to the land down under, Australia, why not consider visiting Olivia Newton-John's homeland in 2011. I have been blessed with Olivia's friendship for nearly forty years and have traveled with her throughout this magnificent country many times. We gave birth to our daughters, Chloe and Colette in 1986, (six weeks apart) it wasn't too long after that we boarded Qantas Airlines loaded down with car seats, bottles and prams, hoping sleep would be a safe refuge while in flight. Thirteen hours. No way!

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: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate In October 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored what has turned out to be a biannual competition called Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 20 teams from colleges and universities from the U.S., Canada, Germany and Spain were selected and asked to design, build and operate an energy efficient house powered exclusively by the sun. The winning team produced a house that best blended affordability, ease of living, attractiveness, comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions, enough energy to run all household appliances and hot water as well as producing more energy than it consumes. Workshops were provided about the current state of green design technologies, jobs and the future of the smart grid.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Backstage at The Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas Nevada She sings with...

By Jessica Borges, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant MyBike is an electric bicycle retailer based in Boston, MA that provides an alternative mode of transportation that reduces individuals’ carbon footprints, as well as the stress and hassle of sitting in traffic. With motor vehicles as the single biggest source of air pollution it’s about time we find less abrasive ways to get around.

By Lush Huxley, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Move over Al Gore and make room for the ladies. The Western world isn’t the only hemisphere freaking out...

It's no surprise! Country music starlet Kellie Pickler and Heroes' star Milo Ventimiglia are pretty sexy. Both were named Sexiest Vegetarians ...

By Galen Crawley's, author of A Path To Survival Against All Odds and LuxEco Advocate In 1979, the British colonization of Zimbabwe came to an end under Ian Smith. After sustained social unrest, the ZANU party, led by Robert Mugabe, came to power. Initially, there was a pervading sense of optimism as this charismatic, highly intelligent individual began to educate the country. In the 1980’s, the economy was growing and Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa. Unfortunately, what began as a democracy became a dictatorship. During the 90’s the Zimbabwe spiraled into decline. At the beginning of the millennium, the Land Reform Programme was initiated. The white farmers, who fueled the economy with their tobacco and food production, were brutally kicked out. It was the beginning of mass starvation, hyper-inflation, and when the diamond fields were found, murder and torture.

Reposted from Give Me Mora May 27, 2015 It’s been awhile since we released a Man or Woman on the Rise, and that’s because I...

By Trish Holder Courtesy of Greenspiration Home One of two solar tube in kids’ bonus room.  “Is that a solar tube light or have tiny flying saucers...

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 Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Heading Sideways in Santa Ynez Valley from Los Olivos to Buellton Two Great...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World   Courtesy Warner Brothers Pictures "There's evil in the...

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

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, co-founder of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World "One need not be in California long before he feels his soul beginning to stir. The air is magnetized...the consciousness awakens ...the soul must speak." Ganna Walska, the flamboyant opera singer who wrote those words in her memoir, had not merely tired of New York. After a six-week stay in the Hollywood Hills in 1940, the 53-year-old Mrs. Walska truly believed that her destiny lay in this "sunny land" where "people are decidedly more interested in your being than in your pocket."

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 Nancy Chuda, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World I took a break over the holidays and went to Florida to visit family and friends. I packed light. And I was glad I did, having discovered a true treasure: A prestigious consignment store called Circa Vintage in Tequesta, Florida (near Jupiter) in The Village Shops on U.S. Highway 1. It’s an upscale, glamorous consignment boutique of current designer and vintage fashions – and shoppers are flocking to it! If you’re in the area you won't want miss it. Fortunately, you don't have to fly all the way to Jupiter -- you can shop here online. Owner Carol Wright was just twelve when she recognized that collecting old dresses could someday bring in green – which in the world of high-end vintage means big money.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World "All that is authentic and true to one’s...

By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEco Living and Healthy Child Healthy World Where do we go when we die? How can we find mercy, forgiveness and love? There is no turning back the clock. Time does not wait for those who are waiting to find answers in their lives. But time does stand still for hours in Malick's fifth feature, The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn. It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palme d'Or before being released in the United States. "The Tree of Life"A superbly conceived but somewhat stilted family drama rich in Christianity's emotional tapestries and the upheavals and uncertainties of life, reveals Brad Pitt who plays father to three sons, one being Sean Penn, brilliantly portrayed in his youth by Hunter McCracken.

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Join LuxEco Living as we explore the wonder and magic of Lotusland in Santa Barbara California. In today’s episode...

By DENNIS OVERBYE Physics; somewhere over the rainbow. What in the World Is a Higgs Boson?  Peter Higgs, an Edinburgh University professor, discussed the particle that bears...