Ecosia
In September 2019, Anja Zimmer initiated an Ecosia campaign for the University of Basel with Uni Basel on Ecosia. Ecosia is an alternative search engine that funds tree planting through its searches. Like any other search engine, it generates its revenue from clicks on ads or certain websites. Ecosia invests most of this revenue in tree planting projects and publishes its financial reports every month. On average, 45 searches allow a tree to be planted.
Project Goal
This project aims to encourage the University of Basel to set up Ecosia as the default search engine on all university computers. Students and employees can also do this independently and install Ecosia on their devices with this link. We receive a monthly overview of the trees planted and can therefore see exactly how many trees the University of Basel is responsible for planting.
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Status
More than 1000 trees have already been planted using the link specially created for the University of Basel (status June 2021). This is thanks to many individuals who have installed Ecosia on their computers. The next steps are to continue to draw attention to Ecosia, including with the Faculty of Psychology, which has started a pilot project. The search engine was installed on the faculty's computers in order to discuss in a first step whether Ecosia would be a good alternative for the university. After the successful completion of the pilot project, an application will be sent to the Rectorate with testimonials from the Faculty of Psychology, as well as the support of the IT Department, to show that the entire University of Basel can (and should!) make the switch to Ecosia. Follow us Instagram and like us Facebook to get more updates on the project! You will find the link to download the search engine here .
Effect
We as a society have an enormous digital footprint. Surfing, streaming, broadcasting and servers the size of small towns all produce carbon emissions similar to those of air travel. Trees absorb CO2 and are therefore a natural climate solution. Changing your search engine therefore is a small switch with a big impact.