The average Google search takes about the same amount of energy needed to power a 60-watt lightbulb for about 17 seconds—0.0003 kilowatts. That may not sound like an impressive amount but it quickly adds up.

Installing certain search engines as an alternative to Google is a simple and easy change in your everyday life that could help out our world at the same time. Among a long list of similar engines, try installing Ecosia, OceanHero, or Ekoru for free. Simply put, these eco-conscious search engines take the money generated from ad revenue and use it to support the fight against various environmental issues.

The B Lab-certified Ecosia, for example, is a financially transparent chrome extension that claims to generate enough money to plant a tree somewhere that is in dire need of it, for every 45 searches made through the engine. The work that Ecosia has already done includes supporting the plantation of over 146 million trees in over 30 countries worldwide. Instead of relying on external sources, Ecosia built its own solar power plant that can supposedly generate twice the amount of energy needed to power its searches.

OceanHero is another search engine focused on making an environmental difference. The immediate difference is that OceanHero focuses on removing plastic from the ocean as opposed to Ecosia’s focus on removing carbon from the atmosphere. Since the main source of plastic comes from areas with high rates of poverty, OceanHero uses the money generated from ads to pay people in said communities to recycle plastic wastes. The system helps provide people in need with a job and financial income while simultaneously promoting ocean ecosystems. Supporting this organization is as easy as surfing the web using their search engine.

If we have any hope of making an environmental difference to this world, we need to start now. These search engines are a good starting point to make even the slightest difference. Consider making the near-effortless switch from Google to one of these seemingly too good to be true eco-friendly search engines.

Works cited

“Powering a Google Search: The Facts and Figures.” Direct Energy Business, business.directenergy.com/blog/2017/november/powering-a-google-search.

“Every Search Helps Remove Plastic and Reforests Our Oceans.” Ekoru Every Search Cleans Our Oceans, www.ekoru.org/cause/.

“Ecosia Is the Search Engine That Plants Trees.” What Is Ecosia? – The Search Engine That Plants Trees, info.ecosia.org/what.

“How Oceanhero Works.” How OceanHero Works, oceanhero.today/about-us/how-it-works.

Chuck Price December 11, 2019 8 min read VIP CONTRIBUTOR Chuck Price. “7 Alternative Search Engines That Do Social Good.” Search Engine Journal, 11 Dec. 2019, www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-search -engines-social-good/338817/#close.

Santiago, Ramiro. “Help the Environment with These 2 Eco-Friendly Search Engines.” Medium, Climate Conscious, 30 Dec. 2020, medium.com/climate-conscious/help-the-environment-with-these-2-eco-frie ndly-search-engines-d21d567f1b45.

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