World

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant The iconic Barataria Bay, a Gulf of Mexico bay located in southeastern Louisiana, is being destroyed by oil still gushing from the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The formerly thriving estuary, rich with virgin cypress trees and an array of wildlife, has been known historically—as the site of an original colony—and literarily—as depicted by Kate Chopin in “The Awakening.” It is beloved by its inhabitants, who knew it, not so long ago, as some of the best fishing in the region.

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.

Candice Held dresses have inspired us at LuxEco Living to think outside the box when it comes to sourcing eco-conscious materials. Saving the environment is not just about finding rare and exotic eco-friendly materials. In fact, sometimes it can be as simple as extending the life of the clothing already in our closets.

Morgan Stanley announced that Bloom Energy will install a fuel cell system at the Firm's global headquarters in New York City's Times Square neighborhood

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World For most people the diagnosis of cancer is a daunting...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Olivia Newton-John and John Easterling, both ardent environmentalists, were married in July of 2008. They have since used the power of their union, their individual celebrity, and their heartfelt enthusiasm for wellness to bring healing to the world. Each has suffered bouts with illness and discovered the earth’s natural medicinal bounty on the road to recovery, awakening them to not only the importance of environmentalism but also of conservation. The LuxEco advocate couple, always on the go—from performing at the Pink Ribbon Gala in Vienna to harvesting anti-oxidant fruits in the Peruvian rain forest—spent some time on the phone with me, discussing their passion.

Forrest Gump may have been on to something when he compared life to chocolates. You really never know what you’re gonna get in a box of chocolates, do you? The truth behind chocolate is more bitter than sweet. The Ivory Coast produces 40% of the world's chocolate, and it just so happens to also be notorious for this little thing called child slavery. Children, both local and from other third world countries, are sold to farms in this area where they are physically abused while working in risky and inhumane conditions. Some children are sold into the trade by parents who are tricked into believing their children will have better lives at the farm. Others are trafficked, stolen from their families, lured by the promise of…chocolate. In these farms they are forced to work 60 hour weeks with little or no food (depending on their performance on the field). These children lose their fundamental human rights when they enter these farms and “modern” society turns a blind eye to the atrocities. Every time we buy a box of chocolate that is not fair trade stamped, we (often unknowingly) endorse child slavery.

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World LuxEcoLiving "The hair cut that I'm most proud of, to tell the truth,...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. It...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. Reporting from San Simeon California. "San Simeon was the place...

By Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano, LuxEco Editorial Assistant and author of the Resplendent Repurposing series Even wonder what really goes on behind the scenes at your local thrift store? About how your donations are used -- are they really helping people? How the charity decides what to charge? What happens to the stuff that doesn't sell? And just how Green an operation is it, anyhow? I got an inside peek into the operation of what is perhaps the best-stocked, best-run chain of thrift stores in the greater Los Angeles area when I spoke with executives of the National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles at the Fairfax Avenue headquarters.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief  of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World "You step into the main greeting room and you know...

On April 21, 2010, the oil rig Deepwater Horizon had a dire malfunction. Both its manual and emergency blowout preventers failed to deploy when the worst-case scenario became a reality. An oil rig blowout has the potential to occur when some combination of mud, oil, natural gas, and water erupt from the well, surge up the drill pipe, and ignite at the surface, exploding into an inferno.

"It will awaken your senses not only to the beauty of nature but to the plight of South Africa's wildlife, many of which are teetering on a thin line for survival.

You might think that the greatest political, cultural, economic shock of our lifetimes, right here in the USA, would unleash a torrent of salient and incisive commentary. There's been some good, some confused, some angry. But mostly what I've seen is a kind of mouth-open shocked.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento is a dog friendly,...

By: Molly Rovero, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant Follow Nancy Chuda and Gwen Stauffer as they explore Lotusland's Giants. Check out insider videos of the endangered Chilean Wine Palm and the wonderfully colorful collection of bromeliads.

In a rare look at the Deepwater Horizon rig, Kerry Sanders from The Today Show flew over the oil-soaked Gulf of Mexico.  As far...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Saying goodbye to a feathered friend We lost her yesterday. It...

By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful...

By Bethany Colson, Managing Editor of LuxEcoLiving.com We are in a hairy situation indeed!!! Tens of millions of gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf...

Nuclear reactors aren't generally accident-prone, though when something does goes awry, it's devastating. By Derin Richardson, LuxEco Editorial Assistant If you’ve been following the tsunami disaster in Japan lately, you’re probably somewhat confused about the dynamics of the situation. While we’re no experts on nuclear physics here at LuxEco Living, here’s a basic, tentative guide on the radiation involved and current events.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant It seems BP has finally begun to make good on weeks of promise to fix the Deepwater Horizon wellhead that has been gushing crude oil into the Gulf Coast. It has taken nearly 3 months for them to initiate a plan that might hold back the oil, but at last, crews worked through the weekend and fitted a new 150,000-pound cap to the wellhead on Monday. They began tests Tuesday, which may take up to 48 hours, to see if the cap will be strong enough to temporarily contain the oil and gases.

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Santa Ynez Valley Maverick Saloon Tales From...

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Last summer, I had the privilege of interviewing Laura...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World A Restaurant Review: S.Y. Kitchen is a dream come true! We...

By Laura Turner Seydel, Chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation, Co-founder of Mothers & Others for Clean Air and LuxEco Advocate Via Defenders of Wildlife Defenders wins lawsuit; future of wolf recovery still uncertain * U.S. district court overturns Interior Secretary Salazar’s action that removed wolves in the Northern Rockies from the endangered species list * Ruling makes it clear that subdividing a wild population based on political boundaries rather than science violates the Endangered Species Act * Defenders calls for update of science and regional stakeholder collaboration to ensure continued wolf recovery and proper removal of federal protections

By Nancy and James Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World. Contributing editorial from Bethany Colson, Assitant Managing...

Empathy and Compassion in the Wake of Japan's Tsunami Crisis By: Marc Ian Barasch, author of The Compassionate Life and Founder/Director, Green World Campaign The aerial shots...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and co-founders of Healthy Child Healthy World     Santa Barbara's San Ysidro Ranch is a posh, plush puppy...

Travels with Journey The Cliffs Resort is a 5 star Doggie Haven Hotel It's a classic experience! The book, Eloise at the Plaza, the story about...

Meridith Baer is a storyteller. For the past 15 years, Meridith has designed interiors by imagining who might live in them and telling their...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World with contributions from environmentalist John Easterling Photo Courtesy of PBS...

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,...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World What's a hat got to do with it? The Kentucky...