World

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.

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 and James Chuda founder of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World New York City 57th and 6th Avenue, The Quin Hotel         When...

"One Today" One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces of the Great Lakes, spreading...

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.

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief  of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Step back in time. Over twenty years ago when...

By Emily Lynne Ion, LuxEco Advocate A recent email from a friend boasted the discovery of the “best bread in all of Paris”. For someone who prefers a baguette for dessert over a piece of chocolate cake, I was intrigued. Most curiously, there was a link included. Yes, a link to a website for a French boulangerie. I had envisioned a corner bakery, tucked away on an old street, that my friend discovered by accident on a rainy day (this is always how cuisine stories in Europe go, do they not?). Instead what she’s discovered was The Poilane Bakery, an international brand and premier Parisian bakery.

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...

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

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...

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 Alanna Brown, a LuxEcoLiving Advocate, creator of Brown House Online, and author of Moonpennies The gatekeepers are gone. The agent, the editor, the lawyer,...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Seeing Citizen Kane...

By Nancy and James Chuda founders of LuxEcoLiving and Healthy Child Healthy World Carmel by the Sea  at The Carmel Country Inn   Like the candy, Carmel...

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 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...

Kudos to Sean Penn because in some respects, this experience was the essence of what journalism should be. He wanted to write this story, and he went to great lengths to achieve it. The issue of the War on Drugs is ever-prevalent, Penn wanted to talk about it, and he did so with his own voice.

"There is no one among us who will light the world. You may use all of your days igniting the empty flares huddled and peopling the darkness

By Nancy Chuda  Founder and Editor in Chief and of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World How many of you have seen...

Due to the constraints of money and commitments at work and home, many of us don’t have the flexibility to zip down to Louisiana...

By Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World An Essay           Like you, I am stupefied. It is unconscionable to...

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.

“Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore.” These are the first two phrases that Tosca sings in her famous Act 2 aria, “Vissi d’arte.” The English translation means, “I lived for art, I lived for love.” Puccini’s Tosca was one of Maria Callas’ most infamous operatic roles and the prime example of life imitating art. Callas’ life ended on September 16, 1977 in a Paris apartment. It is said that she died of a broken heart as did opera singer Floria Tosca at the end of the opera. Callas had an extra special gift which was reflected in the art form of opera. Transforming passion through music for the world to hear was what she sacrificed her life for.

Introduction by Nancy Chuda founder and Editor-in-Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Twenty two years ago Jim and I lost our...

by Elizabeth Grossman, Author of Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, and the Promise of Green Chemistry, High Tech Trash: Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics, and Human Health via The Pump Handle "After three long months of oil geysering continuously from the depths of the Gulf, a temporary cap has stemmed the flow and it appears that the well is on its way to being killed. But we are by no means through this disaster," said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in his opening remarks at the August 4th Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the use of oil dispersants in the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

They were thought to have been extinct since the 1980's but the thumbnail sized Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly (also known as the El...

By Nancy Chuda Founder and Editor-in Chief of LuxEcoLiving and co-founder of Healthy Child Healthy World Silence is golden as in oscar winner. You betcha! If...

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 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...

Just last month marks the fifth year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophic natural disaster that claimed more than 1,800 lives in the Gulf coast region with damages totaling $80 billion. After the devastation of the hurricane and consequent flooding, it seemed to its residents and many around the world that New Orleans, specifically, was making a painstakingly slow recovery. Frustrated by the sluggish progress, actor Brad Pitt founded the Make It Right Foundation in 2007 to help rebuild the hardest hit region of New Orleans, the Lower 9th ward.

There is only one place in Nairobi... The Hemingways is historic. The grounds are magnificent and the view of Ngong Hills from your terrace translates the love and passion that Karen Blixen held for the land she so dearly loved.

LABC Sustainability Summit: Fulfilling Our New Market Potential Much is in store for the LA Business Council Sustainability Summit, including the “Salon of...

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.

"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.

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...