DEFINED IN ENGLISH as “lush and green,” the name of this magazine, Verdant, derives from the root word “green” in several languages (Spanish verde, Italian verdi, French verte). To us, it suggests a unique new range of options and issues in the new eco-awareness circulating throughout the globe.

Just as the color “green” includes its own rainbow of hues–chartreuse, emerald, forest, mint–the issues of climate change, energy conservation and sustainability encompass a wide range of choices and alternatives, including numerous luxury options. If you decide to use less gasoline, you can shop for a hybrid or bio-fuel vehicle–or merely buy a smaller conventional car already engineered for better mileage. To improve the air in your home, you can cover your walls with low-VOC paint, install tiles fashioned from cork or lumber scraps or hang screens of sustainable materials such as bamboo.

Verdant introduces new eco-friendly products, guides you to new financial opportunities in the eco space and informs you about important issues we all face now and in the future–water shortages, air quality, waste disposal.

Why include humor from notable writers such as Christopher Buckley and Lizz Winsted or what some might even consider a tasteless cartoon? Of course we understand that global warming, e-waste and pollution are very serious issues, but we also know better than to take ourselves too seriously. It’s because we do know the seriousness of the problems we face that we intend to retain a sense of humor.

To demonstrate our serious side, we’re partnering with the non-profit Consumer Electronics Association to help reduce e-waste. We’re sponsoring a space at the New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Avenue, in New York City to introduce new green products to the architects and designers who will be helping to shape our future.

We have many more initiatives in the works designed to alleviate current problems. We support those such as Bette Midler who are trying to put more green into our lives, and we encourage you to suggest additional ways this magazine can make a difference.

While we believe strongly that print media will continue to raise public awareness, we will be doing a lot more online in the near future. There is no dearth of green information available on the Web. The job of this magazine is to research unique green options, synthesize the information and present it to you in the most attractive format possible. We hope you’ll want to share Verdant with your friends.

It is Verdant’s overriding aim to help you find approaches and solutions apt for the way you want to live. Whatever your preference in this going-green gamut, from total treehugging to easing into eco-awareness, this magazine is dedicated to keeping you abreast and aware of all the many smarter choices for better living.