Ekoru.org is the New Search Engine that Helps Clean and Reforest Our Oceans
With Google dominating the search engine space, you may be wondering why we need another search engine. However, giving the well-known privacy issues with Google and a couple of other major search engines like Bing and Yahoo, people are beginning to look for alternative search engines especially the ones that support their causes.
Ekoru.org is a new search engine that aims to help save our oceans by addressing two key problems, plastic pollution and CO2 levels. The promise is simple. 60% of revenue goes to partners involved with ocean cleanup and ocean reforestation. That’s right, you read correctly. Reforestation. In the ocean.
The health of our oceans is at a tipping point with unprecedented plastic pollution and damage to marine life and eco-systems. Covering 71% of our planet and containing 96% of all of our water, the health of our oceans is intrinsically linked to our future.
This search engine for the oceans was started by Australian expatriate Ati Bakush and Alison Lee a husband and wife team living in Malaysia. Bakush has 20 years of experience developing software for mobile operator networks and internet service providers, and Lee a former country marketing manager for Nike. Their combined expertise in technology and marketing in addition for their love for the environment resulted in the Ekoru.org search engine.
Like any search engine, as users submit their queries, related sponsored links may appear. If a user clicks on a sponsored link the website makes money which is then shared with it’s non-profit partners. Ekoru.org is partnering with Big Blue Ocean Cleanup to remove plastic and Operation Posidonia to reforest our oceans.
Operation Posidonia led by the University of New South Wales Australia, is working on reforesting the ocean by replanting seagrass. These hidden meadows of green under our oceans can trap carbon up to 40 times faster than tropical rainforests and produce oxygen concurrently. They are the unsung heroes in the fight against climate change. A blue carbon sink which is actually green!
Big Blue Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit with volunteer teams around the world that clean waters and coastlines of waste and plastic. When a whale dies of starvation with a belly full of plastic, we lose an important ally in the fight against climate change.
Whales are vital to the growth of phytoplankton which thrive when they relieve themselves and release a “poonami” in the ocean. Phytoplankton absorb the same amount of carbon as 4 Amazon forests and produce 50% of the oxygen in our atmosphere.
Ekoru’s commitment to the environment also extends to infrastructure with servers powered entirely by hydro-electricity. Each server is water-cooled eliminating the need for onboard fans, and natural airflows in the building mean no power-hungry air conditioning is required. Every search is as environmentally friendly as possible.
A strict privacy policy ensures that users concerned about their privacy have peace of mind. Every search is encrypted and private, and no data is stored on servers about user search activity.
Ekoru.org is already available as an option in some desktop and mobile browsers, such as Pale Moon and Monument. An easily installed browser extension is available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave desktop to make it your default search engine. An Android application is available with an iOS version available soon.
Since launch, Ekoru.org has received a fantastic response from users around the world. Ocean lovers now have the opportunity to help their oceans through the simple act of searching. Every Ekoru search leaves a minimal carbon footprint while helping to clean and reforest our oceans. Give it a try and change your search engine to help save our oceans.