With the planet on the brink of irreversible environmental disaster, students are joining the frantic search for a solution in growing numbers. While many have participated in climate rallies and make various lifestyle changes in order to reduce their carbon footprints, others have traded their Google browsers for Ecosia, a free browser extension that plants 1 tree for every 45 internet searches.

Ecosia’s website features a live count of the number of trees planted, with more than 68,900,000 trees planted in over 20 locations around the globe as of the date of this article’s publication. Its goal is to make environmental action easy and accessible. According to its website, the company “believe[s] in everyone’s power to do good.”

Ecosia provides students with the opportunity to help the environment through a behavior they already engage in daily: searching the internet.

“I chose to use Ecosia because I was doing research on ways I can help the environment in simple ways. I downloaded it and it looked just like Google and I could use it in the same way I could use any browser,” said sophomore Daylin Atwood.

Planting trees is essential to helping the environment because they remove carbon dioxide from the air while simultaneously producing oxygen. According to Scientific America, deforestation is responsible for 15% of global carbon emissions. Planting trees combats this issue while also benefiting local economies.

While it may seem like a small step, small steps add up. Sophomore Colbie Atlas stressed the importance of helping the environment. “If you feel like you can’t do anything, [using Ecosia is] one way you can help, even if you feel like it’s really small,” she said.

Aside from the company being a trailblazer for environmental change, it also takes a “stand for a better internet,” creating financial transparency and privacy for their users.  It also runs it’s business on 100% renewable energy.

According to science teacher Roxanna Jackman, taking something that everybody does and using it as a vehicle for change is beneficial. Jackman said, “It’s great when we take something that we take for granted and make it more sustainable.”