Ekoru, A New Search Engine That Lets Users Clean and Reforest Oceans With Every Search

Users are switching to the environmentally friendly alternative to Google, letting them clean oceans by searching from their computers or mobile devices.

WORLDWIDE, March 18, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ekoru, A New Search Engine That Lets Users Clean and Reforest Oceans With Every Search

Ekoru.org, a search engine powered by hydroelectricity, is giving environmentally-conscious users an alternative to Google, allowing them to reforest and clean plastic from the ocean with every search. 

Ekoru is easy to use and can be accessed from any computer or mobile device simply by visiting www.ekoru.org from an Internet browser. Users can enter a search query to search for web, news, images, and video content online. Ekoru supports multiple browsers with extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge as well as an app for Android. 

Ekoru servers are powered by hydroelectricity, use water cooling instead of electric fans, and housed in data centers that use natural air flows instead of air-conditioning. This reduces the environmental footprint of every search making it as eco-friendly as possible.

Ekoru users help clean and reforest our oceans by turning web searches into an environmental commodity. Ekoru generates revenue just like any other search engine, through the use of sponsored links which appear above the search results. If a sponsored link is clicked on by a user, Ekoru receives income from that click. 60% of revenue received is donated to ocean conservation partners Big Blue Ocean Cleanup and Operation Posidonia.

Big Blue Ocean Cleanup supports volunteer cleanup teams worldwide that remove plastic and debris from waterways, coastal areas, and the ocean. Cleanup ambassadors appointed in each location receive free equipment and support to run cleanup events in their area. Big Blue Ocean Cleanup also gathers data from water samples at a variety of locations and depths to measure presence of microplastic which is shared with government and researchers.

Operation Posidonia led by University New South Wales, combat climate change by replanting ocean seagrass which are the "forests of our oceans". Posidonia Australis shoots are nurtured in nutrient baths before being planted by divers into the ocean floor. Techniques used by Operation Posidonia have seen an unprecedented 90% survival rate of replanted seagrass and are being shared with institutions around the world.   

Ocean plastic is an overwhelming problem with up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic entering oceans each year (Science Journal) and expected to outweigh fish by 2050 (McKinsey). Over 100,000 marine mammals die each year from plastic (UNESCO), and 90% of seabirds have consumed plastic (PNAS)

2019 was a record year in CO2 emissions (Global Carbon Project), and ocean seagrass help counter this by absorbing up to 83,000 tonnes of carbon per square kilometer, and storing carbon up to 40 times faster than tropical rain forests (Operation Posidonia). Seagrass meadows which also improve water clarity, prevent coastal erosion, and act as marine nurseries for young animals are being lost at a rate of two football fields every hour. 

Ekoru is a privacy search engine which does not collect user data. Unlike other search engines, every search is anonymous and we do not store any information about user search histories on our servers.

Ekoru also addresses three major concerns of users, with 53% concerned about their online privacy (Statistia 2019), 65% concerned about plastic in the ocean (Shelton US 2019), and 88% concerned about climate change (Pew 2019).

Thus far, Ekoru has had a tremendous response from users around the world who have made the ethical switch from Google, with the United States (42%), United Kingdom (22%), Japan (11%), Australia (7%), and Canada (5%) being the top five countries.

According to Ekoru Founder Ati Bakush, "We've seen that search results are a commodity with ethical demand elasticity and users are open to change when presented with an ethical alternative. We've grown tremendously since we started purely by word of mouth as users who have discovered Ekoru recommend the search engine to their friends."


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About Ekoru: Ekoru was started by Ati Bakush, an Australian with two decades of experience in software development for mobile operators and Internet Service Providers in South East Asia, and his Malaysian wife Alison Lee, a veteran marketing and communications executive. Living in Kuala Lumpur with their four children and a growing concern over ocean pollution emanating from Asia, they decided to use their collective skill sets to try and make a difference.


The koru swirl is a New Zealand Maori symbol for regeneration and new life represented by an unfurling silver fern leaf. 

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Links: 
Ekoru: https://www.ekoru.org
Cause Page: https://www.ekoru.org/cause/ https://www.ekoru.org/cause/
Overview Video: https://youtu.be/PQMC73NqAEA 
People Behind Ekoru : https://medium.com/ekoru/we-are-ekoru-526d3866e986 
Ekoru Blog Articles: https://medium.com/ekoru/the-mission-to-clean-our-oceans-using-the-internet-f170d6631498

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Contact: Alison Lee ( media@ekoru.org )

Alison Lee
Ekoru
+60 7-660 1226
email us here
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Ekoru Ocean Search Engine

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