Olivia Whitfield – Contributor 

What if I told you that you can plant trees just by searching the web? I know I sound  crazy, but just hear me out! As university students, the internet is central to our learning. By transitioning over to the non-profit search engine, Ecosia, you can make a real difference for the environment with one small change. All of their profits from ad revenue go towards climate initiatives, including planting and protecting trees around the world. They are also powered by 100 per cent renewables, have the greenest form of AI and are one of the most privacy-friendly search engines out there. If you ask me, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Let me walk you through how I got here, if you’re still not convinced. 

Image courtesy of Olivia Whitfield

My story begins with the depletion of my initial fascination with AI. I’m increasingly  aware of how embedded it’s becoming in my daily life, and that scares me. Critical thinking is at an all-time low. I can’t help but feel we are at risk of losing our intellectual independence. Reflecting on the enormous impact that AI data centers have on the environment, along with the endless warnings from leading experts, I was done. In an act of defiance, I made a conscious decision to stop using AI. However, I was quickly reminded that Google has an automatic AI overview for practically every search made. If there’s a way to disable this feature, they sure make it difficult to find. Shockingly, the AI overview that appears when you search “how to turn off Google’s AI Overview” was not helpful. 

In my search for a solution, I came across Ecosia, an ethical search engine that claims to use 100 per cent of their profits for climate action. I originally thought this was way too good to be true, but upon further research, I found that it’s real.

Ecosia generates revenue just like any other search engine; selling ad space. When  users click on these ads, Ecosia gets paid, but instead of the money going straight to shareholders, they use it to fight climate change and environmental injustice. Their main emphasis is on tree planting projects, collaborating with local partners around the world to focus on vulnerable biodiversity hotspots, bird migration routes and environmental zones. Not to mention, all Ecosia’s searches are powered by solar and wind. They produce more renewable energy than their models use. They also allow the user to track their global collective impact, along with their own climate impact, based on how long you’ve been using Ecosia. 

You might be thinking, how can we actually know that this is true? Well, I did some  math based off of Ecosia’s monthly financial reports, and was able to determine that the numbers added up. Ecosia transfers 67.5 per cent of its profits to their tree planting partners, investing the remaining 32.5 per cent towards renewable energy, regenerative agriculture and grassroots activism. 

Now, these financial reports are self-published, so it is possible that these statistics are not entirely trustworthy. However, Ecosia is a B Corporation Certified, a trusted certification for non-profit organizations that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. 

Setting Ecosia as your default search engine takes under five minutes. First, make a  trip to the Ecosia website and click on “Download Ecosia Browser”. You will then be able  to install it on your computer. Finally, import any settings and preferences you wish to  transfer over from your old browser.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s start a movement at Bishop’s and use our  everyday browsing to make real positive change for the environment!