Selecting which search engine to use typically comes down to a choice between Google and Bing as they are the two most well-known options. However, there's alternatives out there, and one eco-friendly option is celebrating a huge milestone this month: planting its 100 millionth tree.
The search engine in question is called Ecosia, which was created in 2009 in Berlin, powers its search results using Microsoft Bing. Ecosia functions using a simple idea: the profit from ad revenue generated through searches is used to plant trees. As of today, Ecosia enjoys over 15 million active users and has over 9,000 planting sites for its trees. Now it's shot past the 100 million tree mark, which equates to 1,771 tonnes of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere every day.
If planting so many trees wasn't impressive enough, Joshi reveals on the Ecosia blog that after building its first solar plant back two years ago, the search engine now produces 200 percent of the renewable energy it needs to power the service. Joshi also explains how this was made possible, "thanks to a simple idea: we’re using our profits to make the world a greener, better place – not to make a single individual or collection of shareholders rich. Christian, Ecosia’s founder and CEO, made this commitment legally binding – and irreversible – in 2018."
It looks as though Ecosia has a bright future helping the planet through internet searches, and the tree planting counter continues to tick upwards every few seconds. It's only been six days since the 100 million milestone was reached, and the total has already added another 700,000 trees.
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