so fun fact, i live within walking distance of that dc project (close enough that i was invited to attend a presentation by edc on what it would do to the immediate area) and i’ve done the math on the grid load. the hydro plants in the city currently meets about 40% of its needs. edc wants 750MW of reserve power generation (that’s diesel) installed on the site. if we assume that’s double their average usage, they will still more than double the energy needs of the city. and that’s in the middle of an infrastructure crisis that means we’re stuck buying german coal.
ecosia has always felt kinda skeevy to me, because tree planting isn’t actually carbon positive. it becomes positive after 40 or so years, granted that the trees are not cut down. which is usually what happens. also, just like ddg, ecosia is dependent on bing, the search provider with the worst carbon footprint, to function.
and i probably don’t need to tell you what cobalt mining does to the environment or the people who handle it.
so it does help to look deeper at the things in your daily life :)
is germany increasing or decreasing the amount of coal it burns every year?
ecosia has always felt kinda skeevy to me, because tree planting isn’t actually carbon positive. it becomes positive after 40 or so years, granted that the trees are not cut down. which is usually what happens.
the tree counter for example aims to match reality not hope:
For instance, if we plant 1000 trees and know from experience that the mortality rate in this area is 25%, we’ll only add 750 trees to our tree counter. We continually measure the survival rate of the trees we plant, through inventories and satellite technology, and adjust our tree counter accordingly.
Pretty much every tree planting project now involves cooperating with the local community around the trees, in some cases money goes to them to buy goods to prevent them from needing to cut down the trees
Not only that but tbh it’s just a good thing :)
also, just like ddg, ecosia is dependent on bing, the search provider with the worst carbon footprint, to function.
you are out of the game too long, they switched to google a while ago:
For the first time in its 16-year history, Ecosia users in France will now receive a proportion of their search results directly from EUSP’s independent European index. The rollout aims to serve 30% of French search queries by the end of the year.
that’s nice, if a bit loose. i hope it’s a working solution.
you are out of the game too long, they switched to google a while ago
that link is broken for me, but from their privacy policy it seems they use both. not that google is any better, unfortunately.
For the first time in its 16-year history, Ecosia users in France will now receive a proportion of their search results directly from EUSP’s independent European index.
that’s very good to hear. hopefully it rolls out to more than just france.
so fun fact, i live within walking distance of that dc project (close enough that i was invited to attend a presentation by edc on what it would do to the immediate area) and i’ve done the math on the grid load. the hydro plants in the city currently meets about 40% of its needs. edc wants 750MW of reserve power generation (that’s diesel) installed on the site. if we assume that’s double their average usage, they will still more than double the energy needs of the city. and that’s in the middle of an infrastructure crisis that means we’re stuck buying german coal.
ecosia has always felt kinda skeevy to me, because tree planting isn’t actually carbon positive. it becomes positive after 40 or so years, granted that the trees are not cut down. which is usually what happens. also, just like ddg, ecosia is dependent on bing, the search provider with the worst carbon footprint, to function.
and i probably don’t need to tell you what cobalt mining does to the environment or the people who handle it.
so it does help to look deeper at the things in your daily life :)
is germany increasing or decreasing the amount of coal it burns every year?
they have a blog post on this
https://blog.ecosia.org/how-do-ecosia-trees-survive-cut-down/
the tree counter for example aims to match reality not hope:
Pretty much every tree planting project now involves cooperating with the local community around the trees, in some cases money goes to them to buy goods to prevent them from needing to cut down the trees
Not only that but tbh it’s just a good thing :)
you are out of the game too long, they switched to google a while ago:
https://archive.md/cGE0Z
but! even better!
https://tech.eu/2025/08/06/ecosia-rolls-out-independent-search-results-in-europe-taking-another-giant-step-away-from-big-tech/
How exciting!
Try to stay positive eh ;)
right now, they’re ramping up massively.
that’s nice, if a bit loose. i hope it’s a working solution.
that link is broken for me, but from their privacy policy it seems they use both. not that google is any better, unfortunately.
that’s very good to hear. hopefully it rolls out to more than just france.
thanks for the reminder. genuinely.