The global situation of climate change is growing, and it is affecting our natural order. “When fires raged across Brazil this summer and deforestation rates reached startling highs, users began downloading a small German search engine in a modest effort to counteract the devastation”, Adage reported.
We never thought that technology could be used to contribute to ecological preservations. Ecosia GmBH, a Berlin-based alternative to Google, donates as much as 80 percent of the profit it makes from running ads alongside search results to plant trees around the world.
Nowadays people are showing their interest to increase awareness and the impact of climate change, from floods wiping out harvests or droughts forcing water restrictions—Ecosia says it’s attracting more users as a result.
The company stated, that searches on its service have increased 82 percent compared to last year, as people become increasingly conscious of climate issues, aided in part by teenage activist Greta Thunberg. On Aug. 22, installs of Ecosia jumped 1,150 percent up from daily average figures, as news outlets around the world reported about the Amazon fires in Brazil.
The search engine typically sees up to 25,000 installs per day, but on Aug. 22 that jumped to over 250,000, stated by the company.
According to Adage, the company says it targets tree-planting in biodiversity hotspots to protect as many plant and animal species as possible. It works with local organizations to plant trees that target the local community’s most urgent needs, like providing jobs, firewood, food or fertile soil.
