It’s no secret that the media tends to focus on the negative instead of the positive, feature problems instead of solutions and evoke despondency instead of motivation. Looking to refresh your optimism?

Ode magazine, ” for intelligent optimists”, offers a healthy dose of inspiration. In each uplifting issue, you’ll find stories regarding active efforts towards a progressive environmental, social and economical revolution, not to mention insightful columns by renowned figures like Paolo Coelho, Amy Domini and David Servan-Shreiber.

Take it from Foreign Policy: “Read Ode, and you may just figure out how to fix this crazy, messed-up world.”

But, that’s not all you’ll gain. Your first issue is free, and, if you subscribe for an annual fee of $19.95, they send you a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation CD and plant a tree in Africa to represent your commitment against global warming.

Plus, recycled paper is used to print every copy and a digital version is available online. (P.S. You can get a good news fix right here, too.)

Image: willsfca

I love magazines and I love travel but not every travel magazine does it for me. My eyes start to glaze over at the terrible sameness of so many resorts, while my heart sinks at the knowledge that the “paradise” they are selling is all too often actually a former one.

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot, with a pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot. – Joni Mitchell

You won’t find a bikini model on the front of Wend Magazine. It’s mainly focused on adventure travel – from hiking the Andes to skiing Japan. But it also has a strong environmental theme – one of the articles in the current issue is about a sailing expedition to the site of a marine plastic disaster in the North Pacific Ocean. There’s a section called Greenery devoted to sustainable design and a section called Platform devoted to an environmental non-profit organization.

The print magazine is printed on paper certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council – meaning it comes from sustainably managed forests – with soy-based inks. Subscribers can also opt for a paperless digital subscription – especially green if you live on the other side of the world (it’s a US-based magazine). The website also has a lot of additional content such as podcasts.

I really like the look of Wend but I must confess I found the digital edition hard to read. It would work well on a desktop with a large screen but it was a bit unwieldy on my small laptop screen – I either had to squint at tiny type, or enlarge it and navigate with the browser arrows. Try it out for yourself – maybe you’ll fare better with the digital edition than I did. If not, but you like the content, at least you know the paper product is also ethically sound (though it would be nice to see an upgrade to recycled paper at some point).

There’s nothing I like more than checking the mailbox and discovering a magazine or two. But it’s not the greenest read around. So I did a little Googling and discovered there are plenty of digital
magazines available to keep me reading for an eternity. And many are free.

Canada-based Green Living Magazine is a quarterly magazine that offers celebrity profiles, engaging features and departments on natural beauty, eco fashion, fitness and active lifestyles, organic food, earth-friendly green gifts, eco heroes and tips for a healthy home.

Eco for You is a new English consumer magazine that aims to provide a variety of views on all aspects of the environment. The current issue addresses global warming and the ozone layer, green energy, recycling, and
much, much more.

Organic Lifestyle magazine has articles on everything from yoga and organic shaving to eco travel and book reviews. This monthly magazine has four issues online so far but am wondering if it is still publishing as the last issue was September 2008.

Organic Spa Magazine is available in both print and digital editions and offers articles and departments dedicated to exploring the sustainable side of life. Focus is on spa destinations, organic products, and food, fitness, and wellness issues.

So the next time you’re thinking about heading to the nearest bookstore for a magazine fix, why not head for the nearest computer instead?

Of course, you can subscribe to EcoSalon for your free green fix anytime you need it.

Image: dirtymouse