Blue & Green Tomorrow

Funny how things work out. No sooner had I reorganised my life (see this blog post) than I got an irresistible offer to help create and edit a new magazine. Since July, we've been working on the creation of Blue & Green Tomorrow which hit thousands of carefully-selected doormats two days ago.

We've called it Blue & Green Tomorrow because we want our planet to be as blue and green tomorrow as it was yesterday. And we believe that the way to do this is for our readers to start making more informed choices about their domestic, business and financial lives.

We're not interested in stale debate or slanging matches between vested interests which lead to the deferment of decisions, we believe that all of our readers can take positive actions right now, if only they could easily lay their hands on the right information.

That's where the magazine comes in with its news from around the world and features on subjects such as shopping, travel, energy and investment. It is relentlessly focused on positive, practical and pragmatic choices that readers can make to leave the world better than they found it.

We expect their influence to spread and affect others, whether it's by setting an example or by helping to finance the right kinds of business.

We aim to give them an informative and enjoyable read. We want the magazine and its website to become a lively forum for the readers and the publication team. The buzz has already started as we get feedback on the first issue of the magazine. The website is live, but you can expect much more very soon. A twice-monthly email newsletter will follow for those who choose to opt in.

That's probably as much as I can tell you at the moment. One or two people have questioned our use of paper for the magazine but it comes from sustainable forests, is bleach-free and can be easily recycled. You could add other benefits such as it being possible to read it anywhere and it keeping postal workers in business.

When I helped relaunch Personal Computer World in 1979, I just knew we were at the start of a fantastic era in which computer power was going to be put into everyone's hands. Right now, I have similar feelings about the opportunities that face us with clean energy, ethical purchasing, wise investment and sensible travel. And that's just for starters.

As someone whose environmental awareness was awakened in 1974, when I read E F Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, I'm just thrilled to be associated with such a forward-looking and optimistic publication. While I've been involved in many sustainability initiatives over the past seven years, none has felt as 'right' as this one.

I'll keep you posted on progress.