TL;DR

AI uses energy and water. It also drives real-world emissions depending on where the electricity comes from. So we are not going to tell you that using Earthly Insight “helps the planet” by default. What we can do is be honest about the trade-offs, reduce waste where we can, and route a meaningful share of our revenue to rewilding projects as a step in the right direction.

We won’t claim “AI is good for the planet”

If you have seen headlines about AI’s environmental footprint, you are not imagining it.

Modern AI runs on data centers. Data centers consume electricity, and they also use water (directly or indirectly) for cooling. Depending on the grid, that electricity can come with substantial greenhouse gas emissions.

So here is our stance:

We do not believe it is honest to market any AI product as “good for the planet.”

AI can be useful. It can help people learn, write, build, and solve problems faster. But usefulness is not the same thing as sustainability.

If you choose to use AI, we think you deserve clarity about what it costs and what is being done about it.

The impacts of AI on the planet (the plain-English version)

1) Electricity use

AI models run on GPUs in data centers. Every chat, request, or workflow triggers computation. Computation uses electricity.

Some of that electricity is clean. Some is fossil-based. The climate impact depends heavily on where and when the compute happens.

2) Water use

Data centers can use water for cooling, and electricity generation can also be water-intensive. Even when a facility is not “using water” directly, the power system behind it may be.

3) Hardware and supply chain impacts

AI is not just software. It relies on physical hardware, which has upstream impacts: mining, manufacturing, transport, and end-of-life e-waste.

4) Rebound effects

When something becomes easier and cheaper, we tend to do more of it. If AI makes content creation, coding, customer support, and research easier, overall usage can increase fast. That can push total energy demand upward even if each interaction becomes more efficient.

What we are doing differently at Earthly Insight

We cannot erase the footprint of AI. We can reduce waste, avoid empty promises, and fund real-world restoration.

1) We do not “offset” your usage with claims we cannot prove

You will not see us promise that “your chat planted trees” or that “your subscription is carbon neutral.”

Rewilding matters, but it is not a permission slip to burn more energy. We treat it as support for ecological recovery, not as a way to magically cancel out emissions.

2) We build with efficiency in mind

We intentionally prioritize text-first experiences instead of energy-heavy features. We focus on product decisions that reduce unnecessary compute and encourage thoughtful use.

This is not about perfection. It is about not making the problem worse for the sake of novelty.

3) We fund rewilding with a real, recurring commitment

We donate 33% of subscription revenue to rewilding and ecological restoration efforts. That means as the company grows, support for on-the-ground work grows too.

We also aim to be transparent about where that money goes and how it is used, because vague impact language is how greenwashing happens.

4) We take privacy seriously

We are building Earthly Insight so users can get help without feeling surveilled. We do not use user conversations to train models. We are also working toward stronger protections like end-to-end encryption.

Privacy is not directly an environmental feature, but it is part of responsible technology. If we are asking for trust, we need to earn it.

What we will say, clearly

Here is what we can say without stretching the truth:

• AI has environmental costs.
• We are trying to make using AI less wasteful.
• We are directing revenue to credible rewilding work.
• We will share what we know, what we do not know, and what we are improving.

That is the honest version.

If you want to reduce your AI footprint (even while using it)

A few practical habits that help:

• Use AI for high-leverage tasks (planning, summarizing your own notes, drafting), not endless “just because” usage.
• Be specific in prompts so you need fewer retries.
• Reuse good outputs (templates, checklists) instead of regenerating from scratch.
• Avoid energy-intensive features unless you truly need them.

We will keep building tools and guidance that support these behaviors.

Final Thoughts

Earthly Insight exists for people who want AI help but do not want to pretend there is no cost.

We are not here to sell a fantasy. We are here to build something useful, be upfront about trade-offs, and move more money toward ecological recovery.

If that resonates, you can try Earthly Insight today.

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