28 trees! - That’s how many trees I have helped to be planted over the last 2 months directly because of my search-engine queries.
Saving the planet by making a simple switch
Two months ago I stumbled upon a search engine that I had never heard of before - Ecosia.org. They are a social business that use all their profits to plant trees “where trees are needed most”. That means that they don’t simply plant trees in mass carbon-offsetting plantations, but actually fund and organise many crucial reforestation programs in countries around the world that desperately need help fighting against ecological collapse.
As of writing, Ecosia have planted 153,164,599 trees in over 13,000 planting sites around the world. There’s a nifty counter at the bottom of their search page that keeps a tab on the trees they are planting - one every 1.3 seconds.
At the top of the page, there is a count of your ongoing web searches (1277 for me). On average, the ad revenue made from every 45 searches will pay for a tree to be planted. So it’s gives you a great feeling watching this number tick upward every day.
Some of the projects that Ecosia are involved in are:
One such one is the initiative to restore the diverse forests of Indonesia that had been lost palm-oil plantations that had displaced wildlife and small-holder farmers. This helps restore ecological diversity and provide alternative income sources for the small-holders that whose livelihoods had been destroyed.
There are thousands of other such projects happening globally, not only producing CO2 sinks, but restoring habitats, livelihoods, communities and more.
Switching search-engines is a no-brainer
There are so many challenges facing us at the moment, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming, but by just switching search engines we can radically help reverse the deforestation that has been happening in some of the most ecologically precious regions of the world.
I have been using Ecosia solely for the last two months and have found it to be a great experience. There’s something uplifting about knowing that a simple everyday activity can be leveraged to make a positive difference. Especially when you are given clear numbers as to the impact you have personally had.
So ditch Google and switch to Ecosia
At the moment, Ecosia enjoys just a tiny fraction of the search-engine market. I think less than 1% of all search-engine users.
If we can help Ecosia to gain a decent share of the search-engine market, imagine the positive change it could bring about.
So go on, just switch your browser’s default search engine over to Ecosia.org, give it ago for a month and let me know how you get on!
And don’t forget to share and tell your friends and families too!
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