Photo Source: https://brightmorningstar.org/ecosia/
How many times a day do you search using Google? As a productive member of modern society, that figure is probably pretty high. Now, multiply that number by billions and consider how such a figure translates into daily income accumulated by Google as a search engine. What would our world look like if the main, global search engine’s revenue was used to help combat climate change? Ecosia is on its way to make that idea a reality.
Now, some may be weary of switching to Ecosia as their default search engine because it is not ‘the internet.’ It is important to clarify that, despite what is commonly insinuated, Google is not the internet. Like Bing, Yahoo!, Ecosia, and other search engines, Google is a digital tool through which search results are accumulated from the internet. For instance, you can still use Google Drive and Gmail with Ecosia as your default search engine. The difference between Google and Ecosia is that the latter uses its profit to plant trees.
Ecosia’s profits, produced from searches by its roughly 20 million users, are 100% invested in the planet. As of writing, Ecosia has planted 206,469,163 trees in over 35 countries, including more than 900 species, and has dedicated €84,632,529 (roughly $91,871,572) to climate action (currency conversion from Ecosia). With 70 plus active projects, you can help reforest our planet today by installing Ecosia on any electronics that you search on, from your laptop to your smartphone. Instructions on how to begin using Ecosia are below, but first it is important to understand why Ecosia is important (beyond the obvious) and why we as consumers can trust it.
Ecosia publishes their financial reports each month, produces videos and articles about specific countries and projects, and is a Certified B Corporation. This transparency is all too rare in tree planting initiatives and only enhances the validity of this organization, a legitimacy established by said certification. Furthermore, Ecosia plants and protects trees, emphasis on the ‘planting’ of new trees. Believe it or not, some carbon credit programs that are marketed as investments that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere have been known to deal with pre-existing forests, many of which are already protected by local groups who may never see any money. Thus, as Ecosia is actually, actively adding to the population of trees in given areas, their work will actually result in an increased removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Furthermore, Ecosia’s solar panels currently produce more than enough energy to support its user’s searches, so the remaining clean energy is put into the grid. This displacement of energy from fossil fuels by solar energy only adds to their work cleaning up the atmosphere by combating pollution. You can help them expand their effort by switching to Ecosia. I switched years ago and have completed almost all of my college education, senior research thesis included, utilizing Ecosia. Its efficacy is proven by my experience and that of millions around the world who are helping to plant trees every day.
How to Install Ecosia on Your Laptop or Desktop: To use Ecosia on your computer, you can simply look up Ecosia on Google (as you would Bing) and begin to search. However, you can also bookmark the search engine or set it as your default search engine through your given web browser’s settings.
How to Install Ecosia on Your Smartphone: Very simple here! Just look up “Ecosia” on your phone’s App Store and download.
Source: https://www.ecosia.org/?c=en
