The Internet

This change is one of the fastest and easiest decisions you can make to live more sustainably. It requires no money and very little time to implement. Read this article to find out how you can help Ecosia help the planet!

What is Ecosia?

Ecosia is a search engine just like Google. You know those adds that pop up when you search in Google? Those adds help generate revenue for Google. Ecosia works the exact same way. You simply search for whatever you ordinarily would, and the ad revenue generated by Ecosia goes towards planting trees. It’s that simple. Ecosia is a legitimate organization who has proven their mission works many years in a row. Try it for yourself and see how easy it can be to fund the planting of trees worldwide!

Ecosia currently has 20 different tree-planting projects in 15 different countries including Peru, Brazil, Spain, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Indonesia. Trees are one of the most important tools we have to fight climate change as they literally absorb the CO2 we are emitting. Not only will they make the air we breathe cleaner, but it will provide habitats for endangered species. Lastly, this program provides jobs to people worldwide doing something that will benefit us all! Watch the video if you would like to see the most recent update from Ecosia. Follow the link below to be redirected to their site to learn more about their projects and mission.

Learn more about Ecosia's Projects

Now for a little math. Each mature tree absorbs about 22 pounds of CO2 every year. This means roughly 1 trillion trees would capture 25% of human-made CO2 emissions. There are about 1 billion people on earth living in developed nations with access to the internet. This means each person in this demographic would need to plant 1000 trees each to meet this goal. Luckily, every 45 searches in Ecosia plants a tree and the website will keep track!

How do I set up Ecosia?

Ecosia has planted over 95 million trees worldwide and that number grows every day. You can help this project succeed simply by choosing to search in Ecosia. Please spend 5 minutes to make Ecosia your default internet browser. This will ensure this action becomes a daily habit without having to think about it. (Trust me, before I made Ecosia my home page I would go weeks before remembering to use it.)

Directions on how to make Ecosia your Homepage

Follow the instructions on each of the links (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.) to make Ecosia your default browser and begin searching! Ecosia has a tree counter at the top of your home page allowing you to easily see your progress. The counter at the top of the page shows the number of searches you have performed. It takes about 45 searches to plant one tree. Get the search counter up to 900 to cut the first 1% of your carbon footprint! (Believe me, this happens much faster than you might think.)

Thank you for reading and taking your first step towards a lower carbon footprint!

Please note: About 5% of the time I prefer Google's results to Ecosia. So let yourself search with google if you need to, but be sure to return to Ecosia because it does work perfectly well most of the time!

Author: Nick Engler

Engineering Graduate Student, Environmental Advocate, Pasta Enthusiast

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

#ecosia #sustainability