Just when you think the world couldn’t possibly need another top-level domain (.tv, .biz, .travel, etc.), along come Al Gore and friends to ask for another.

A company called Dot Eco LLC is petitioning for the creation of the .eco top level domain through the ICANN gTLD application process. The advisory board for the group includes includes Davis Guggenheim (director of An Inconvenient Truth), Roger Moore (renowned actor and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF), Richard Muller (Author of Physics for Future Presidents and contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and Jim Dufour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Joining this effort is Al Gore and his non-profit, the Alliance for Climate Protection.

On one level, I can kind of see where having .eco domains would be beneficial to companies, individuals, etc. seeking to highlight their environmental initaitives and efforts. On the flip, however, this means that every already established green entity out there is going to want to fork out whatever costly yearly charge is assigned to this .eco domain to retain branding. I don’t neccessarily see how creating this domain is truly something we need to be focusing on. The web seems plenty healthy without it. What do you think?

[Update: Okay, here's an interesting aspect of the .eco domain. From the website, "Profits from registration fees will be used to fund scientific initiatives and research in climate change, ocean analysis, economic policy, and other environmentally related areas." Still, does this justify its creation?]

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About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

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