The first suggestion for 2021 is so simple you can do it in a couple of minutes without even standing up: just switch your default search engine to Ecosia.
Ecosia is a search engine with a difference: 80% of their profits are used to plant trees around the world. Their servers are carbon-negative, because they produce double their energy requirements with solar power, and return the rest to the grid. They provide neutral search results, don’t track you or sell your data, and your searches are anonymised in a week. Tree-counters in your search bars also show you how many trees your searches have planted! 🌳
The action of planting trees is especially powerful because it has so many positive effects on planetary health. Trees draw down CO2 from the atmosphere, mitigating climate change. They provide necessary habitats for threatened species. They are instrumental in the water cycle, reversing desertification by holding water and bringing rain, thereby increasing crop yields and human health. Ecosia has planted over 100 million trees in 10 years, and half of those in the last year… so it’s starting to catch on.
As of 2020 Google processes around 40,000 searches a second, (that’s 3.5 trillion a day) and comprises 88% of the search engine market. The money made from advertising embedded in those searches have made Google the 5th most valuable company in the world. Although they are a bit notorious for tax avoidance, Google has been powered by 100% sustainable energy since 2017. This is some feat, and makes them the largest consumer of renewable energy in the world.
Google also openly tracks your searches and stores your information, which they use to tailor your searches, and sell to advertisers. Now the former is designed to be useful (and probably is) to optimise your searches. After all, what you searched for last time may be similar to what you’re searching for now. The only problem with this tailored search assistance is that the suggestions, and the results that come up are biased. That means instead of getting neutral or balanced information, you may only see the articles or sources that the algorithms estimate you want to read. When this happens to people with opposing views society can become more polarised, fuelling conflict. It’s also a serious threat to planetary health if we’re all getting different information on, say climate change.
Now I’m not having a go at Google – I applaud them for their innovation, useful services, and carbon neutral commitment. But a global monopoly on information services is probably not ideal. Planting trees whilst you do something you have to do anyway however, does seem pretty ideal.
How to Ecosia
Simply download the app for your phone, and plug-in for your desktop browser, set Ecosia as your browser homepage and search! It works well with Google Chrome (I’ve been using this combo for the past 6 months), or if reading about Google makes you also want a more privacy-focused browser, they recommend Brave.
Ecosia also have a shop in which the merchandise plants trees, or you can give the feel-good gift of trees for the next birthday you’re stumped on.
Want to know more?
Try reading Ecosia’s blog for updates on where trees are being planted, or check out their public financial reports if you’d like to follow the money. If you’re suspicious, they are independently certified by B Corporation as a company with highly positive social impact. Finally, this short video might answer some of your questions:
So why not give it a go, and let me know what you think of Ecosia?! If you love it as much as I do, share it with your friends and family so we can all grow forests together.
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