According to Internet Live Stats, there are more than 100,000 searches happening around the world every second. Just imagine if we could plant a tree for every search, how much we would be able to help the planet. This is exactly what the eco-friendly search engine – Ecosia does. Let’s learn a little more about what is Ecosia, and why you should choose it over other search engines.
Ecosia: An eco-friendly search engine
Ecosia is an eco-friendly search engine that plants trees where they are needed most. The social business uses at least 80% of its income to fund tree-planting programs around the world. So far, the award-winning firm has planted more than 60 million trees in deforested regions of Thailand, California, the Philippines, and Mexico, to name a few.
Based in Berlin, Germany, this eco-friendly search engine is the first to receive B Corp and Carbon Neutral certification. The company doesn’t just plant trees but it also makes sure that these trees survive. In addition, Ecosia also supports the environment by offsetting carbon emissions and it’s a 100% clean company. This means the company is powered by clean energy (building its own solar plants) and has a net-zero carbon footprint.
How does Ecosia work?
To add to the green initiatives, every search on Ecosia supports a small business by paying for advertising clicks. That’s why every search you make is extremely important. It keeps up the traffic and enables the eco-friendly search engine to plant even more trees and help more small businesses!
The way you search can make a big difference, too. Ecosia uses the Microsoft Bing search engine — which means that any searches you perform using Google will not benefit their tree-planting effort. So remember, if you want your searches to count towards planting trees, make sure to do them on ecosia.org while browsing on your laptop or phone! You can also download the Ecosia chrome extension to use it as your default search engine.
Also Read: Microsoft Bing Introduces Its Ethical Shopping Experience To The USA
Ecosia is super-fun to use
Not only is Ecosia a great way to make a difference with every search, but it’s also just as fun to use! You can track your individual impact (often in the form of “this many trees were planted because of you!”) and see how much carbon dioxide you’ve offset. There’s also a progress bar that lets you know how close you are to reaching your next goal — which is always something great like building a tree nursery in Indonesia or planting yet another millionth tree. On top of all this, Ecosia has a really cute aesthetic.
If you decide to install the Ecosia Chrome extension, you’ll be able to see a counter that shows how many seconds of your searches have gone towards planting trees. Every second counts, so it’s nice to see that happen in real-time. In addition to seeing the counter, you can also set up alerts that will let you know when a tree has been planted, thanks to your searches. These are located at the bottom of your desktop screen.
With these pop-ups, each new tree is announced with a gentle sound and animation. You can turn off the sound by clicking on “mute sounds” but we recommend keeping it on. It’s pretty satisfying listening to the chimes as new forests grow around the world, due to your actions.
Why should you switch to Ecosia?
Here are 5 reasons why you should switch to this eco-friendly search engine.
1. Every search does more than only planting trees.
Other than planting trees, the eco-friendly search engine does a lot more for the planet and its people. Here’re a few of the many good deeds by Ecosia you should know about:
🌳 Your single search removes around 1kg of CO2 from the atmosphere.
🌳 They are working to make the soil fertile again in Burkina Faso and Spain.
🌳 Fighting the palm oil industry by helping farmers in Indonesia with an alternate income source.
🌳 Protecting animal habitats such as one in Uganda for the chimps and in Madagascar for the lemurs.
🌳 Helping women in Morocco to study and become financially independent, with the help of their local plant nurseries.
And all this is just a begining! The eco-friendly company has been working on 60+ projects to save the planet, provide alternate income sources, educate future generations, and a lot more.
2. Your data is safe and you can browse ad-free.
Using this eco-friendly search engine not only helps you make a positive impact on the environment but also gives you all the pros of using the common ones. Your data is encrypted and your searches are private. This means Ecosia does not track your cookie data or sell your data to third parties, unlike other search engines. Moreover, it also does not use your data to display ads. In addition, the extension will not remember your search queries after 90 days.
3. No secrets, only trees.
Ecosia is a transparent company, so no secrets only trees. This means you can check out how much money Ecosia has made, where it’s been spent, and what impact it’s had on the environment. You can easily find all the financial reports on ecosia.org, as well as detailed information about where and how your searches plant trees.
4. The green leaf prompt helps you make greener choices.
When searching on this eco-friendly search engine, you will come across a green leaf sign in the search results. This is a small initiative by Ecosia to help us identify businesses that share the same mission – to save the planet with their sustainability practices or eco-friendly products.
5. Because we’re running out of time.
While Ecosia isn’t a substitute for real-life activism or charitable giving, it’s a small but meaningful way you can contribute to conserving our environment, without having to make major personal changes in your life. By using Ecosia instead of Google, Bing, or Yahoo! (for those who still use them), you can take advantage of the convenience and speed of today’s technology while also making a difference with Ecosia.
To sum it all up…
Ecosia provides the same functionality as other search engines – a speedy search tool that lets you quickly find what you’re looking for, with the added bonus of planting trees to save the planet.
So dear readers, when are you switching to a greener way of browsing the internet? 🌿
