A Search Engine that Saves the Rain Forest? - World's Greenest Search Engine?

It's a nice gesture, and admittedly a green one, but whether or not it makes Ecosia "the greenest search engine," as the site claims, is questionable. Ecosia's angle or marketing strategy is that by using the search engine, users are actively participating in preserving rain forests, thereby keeping the planet cooler and protecting vital biodiversity.

The claim is excessive ,and shouldn't be as simplified. Many factors go into it these types of donations, including which projects are funded and ultimately, how successful they end up being.

It should also be pointed out that saving rain forests is much more complicated than simply urging people who are sitting at their computer to click away on sponsored results. It's actually the people in the trenches, those who are in Brazil doing the actual work required to save or at least help the rain forests that should be applauded.

Criticism of Ecosia aside, getting the necessary funding for those in the trenches is also a big part of the battle. Technically every little bit-or in this case, every click--the new search engine compiles is helpful in its own way, but it's the sensationalism of the claims that consumers can do without.

Whether or not Ecosia is the greenest search engine on the web can't be verified, just as its claim of saving two meters per click on sponsored results can't be verified either. What is true, however, is that teaming up with WWF to raise funds for such a vital issue is important and respectable, so let's leave it at that.