Green Your Searches II: Ecosia

Much earlier, we posted search engines that were made to be eco-friendly. A search engine is a website that helps you search for anything on the Internet, like Google.

We mentioned how Blackle by Heap Media saves energy by having a black background because it takes less energy to show the color black. Unfortunately, the energy-saving power of Blackle only applies to CRT screens (those older monitors with the really big box in the back). Now that current monitors are LED displays, it doesn't do much to use the site.

The post also had Ripple, a great search engine that has all its profit from your search go to the charity of your choice, including Grameen Foundation Australia and WaterAid. The last site was Green Maven which is basically an amazing eco-friendly online directory.

This update is about Ecosia. This site really makes a difference to the environment because at least 80% of its profits go towards saving rainforest. Each search saves 2.4 yd² (2.2 m²) of rainforest and they've already saved 181,690,869 yd² (166,138,131 m²) to date. They're backed by Bing, Yahoo, and WWF (the World Wide Fund for Nature), and I'll let their video tell you the rest.

Ecosia: The eco-friendly search engine from in60seconds on Vimeo.

You can check out their statistics of what's happening, browse their FAQs, and install Ecosia in your browser if you have Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Opera.

They're still working on the Safari add-on because of Apple's settings, but you can install a program called Glims that can personalize your search settings. On a side note, Glims also allows you to add Facebook, Wikipedia, Google Images, etc. to Safari, which is pretty cool.

What Glims can do on Safari

If you need any help with installation after installing Glims, you can email us. Happy browsing.

Green Your Searches

Every nook and cranny can be made more planet-friendly, that's just a fact. Here are a few websites that have taken that fact seriously and are helping all Internet users make the world a better place.

Blackle
Google is awesome, in my opinion. When I found out about Blackle, it became even cooler in my eyes. Blackle is the search engine that allows the monitor to save energy by having a black background instead of the usual white we see everywhere. Read more about how it saves energy, and go here to use it.

Ripple
It probably isn't what you need when you're researching for academic projects, but you should definitely click around when you have free time and are searching for random things. Get this, it's a non-profit website that gives all its revenues to charities. It's also very educational for those who want to know more about how people are changing the world.

Green Maven
This. Is. WOW.
A search engine of EVERYTHING green, sustainable, and awesome. The environmentally-friendly world is at your fingertips and definitely worth a look.

Greener Inboxes

I'm sure there are many Hotmail and Microsoft Messenger users among us, and they can change the world! Well, you know, not so drastically, but the idea's the same.

According to the Green Your Blog:

If you're a Microsoft Messenger or Hotmail user, this is for you ... join the "I'm" campaign and start giving to your green non-profit of choice every time you send an IM or email.How it works:

1. Add an icon to your Messenger display name or a footer on every email. (You can find the instructions here).

2. Select which charity you would like to support from a list of eight -- if you want green-specific, you might choose Stop Global Warming or The SierraClub3.

IM and email as you normally do - the automated system does the rest.The amount is small per message, but it adds up!

Since March 2007, user's actions have contributed close to $2 million.

That's it! Can you imagine? Start bringing green to your life today :)