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The Search Engine that Matches Your Values

If you haven't heard of it yet, you might want to learn about Ecosia.

By: Cameron Catanzano + Save to a List

We hear it all the time; We need to start taking care of our environment, but how do we move from knowing about it to doing something?

It’s often a paralyzing question. An issue this big requires big changes, but it also requires small changes. We learn to walk before we run and before we walk we learn to crawl.

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It doesn’t require donations. It doesn’t require volunteering. It’s so easy it’s genius.

It’s a search engine that plants trees.

Download the free app or browser extension and that’s it. Keep making the same internet searches you’ve been doing, but now the ad revenue that once went to google plants trees.

I’ve been using Ecosia on my phone and laptop for the past year and sometimes I forget I’m evening planting trees.

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You decide who gets your money when you make searches, and your decision makes a difference.

On average it takes 45 searches to plant a tree. With everyone’s searches that adds up fast. As I’m typing this Ecosia has raised the money to plant over 21,600,000 trees and the number is constantly growing.

But why trees? 

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COOL CLIMATE

Trees absorb CO2, which is one of the main drivers of climate change. Larger forests can even create clouds, which then reflect the sunlight and cool our planet.

BIODIVERSITYForests are the most diverse systems on land with millions of species out of which many have not even been discovered and analyzed yet.

SOIL PROTECTION

Trees protect the soil from erosion and they create productive and fertile land. If you cut down trees, you will very soon end up with a desert.

CLEAN AIR

Trees create oxygen, which we need to breathe. They also clean the air by absorbing pollutant gases and filtering out particulates.

HAPPY PEOPLE

Forests provide us with healthy food and lots of other products, which can be sustainably harvested. Worldwide the livelihood of 1.6 billion people depends on forests.

WATER SECURITY

Forests regulate water cycles and prevent floods. They create moisturous microclimates and increase groundwater levels. They act like a “sponge” and therefore prevent droughts.

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So what are you waiting for? Start using Ecosia now! Make it your default search engine for Chrome and download the app (iTunes) (Google Store).

(This post was originally published on camandtheoutdoors.com)

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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