MAR 05

When people think of Al Gore, they probably first think of his involvement in drawing attention to the climate crisis. After that, they may think of his involvement (embellished and true) with the Internet. Well, Al Gore is bringing those two facets of his life together by trying to create an environment-specific domain for the web.

Gore and his Alliance for Climate Protection are partnering with Dot Eco LLC, a group of Hollywood and environmental-activist types, to apply for the .eco domain on the web. The domain will be used for companies, organizations or websites promoting environmental causes and a majority of the profits from the sale of those domain names will go to environmental philanthropies.

The Dot Eco group includes director Davis Guggenheim who worked on "An Inconvenient Truth" with Gore, actor Roger Moore, author Richard Muller who sits on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Jim Dufour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The group was formed to secure and operate the .eco domain and joins major cities around the world who are all applying to ICANN for specific domain extensions.

The Alliance for Climate Protection hopes that the new domain will be a new source of fundraising and way of creating awareness for environmental issues. Don't look for the domain anytime soon though. The application process will probably last until the end of the year.

Comments (16)

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written by Rob, March 05, 2009

What a great idea! I really like the part about some of the money from the sale of the domain names going to environmental causes. I hope the idea catches on.

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President
written by Cheryl, March 05, 2009

Leave it up to Mr Gore to come up with another fantastic idea! He was a major inspiration for my business.

Count me in!

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Another TLD land rush?
written by Kilo, March 06, 2009

Dibs on zyd.eco (my environmentally friendy, sustainable Cajun band).

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I'll be registering...
written by Chris, March 06, 2009

...an .eco adress as soon as it becomes possible. I really like the idea and hope that the ICANN will seriously consider granting .eco domains.

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Ditto
written by Kirsten, March 06, 2009

What a brilliant idea!! This will make it so much easier to identify and define eco-friendly groups via the web. I wonder what the screening process will be.

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Way to go Al
written by Joe, March 06, 2009

Hat's off to Al! He's always thinking of new ways to capitolize off of the environment. Some thoughts:

1. What do you do if you license a .eco address to a company only to find that it isn't "eco" enough for that status? Can it be for any company encouraging environmentalism (like a points credit card does) or must they do everything environmentally friendly while providing an ecofriendly good or service? What if they stray away from the model?
2. If a company makes ecofriendly, yet illegal in some areas or deemed generally immoral item, can they get the .eco? A solar powered vibrator bong maybe?
3. Can a major company, say Union Carbide get a .eco because they make an ecofriendly pesticide?
4. Do you pay for the .eco as based on your company's receipts like tithing or just $20/yr like a .com?
5. Want to bet that the .eco money goes towards buying "credits" with Al's investment company. Pay him millions and watch him make money with it. Yay, let's all cyphen money to Al. Maybe he'll use the money to fill his private jet. I know, I know, he buys credits- in his own company- to offset his use. A sham is a sham is a sham.

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written by MD, March 06, 2009

When people think of Al Gore, they probably first think of his involvement in drawing attention to the climate crisis.

Nah, I think, "Do as I say, not as I do"...

What's the Barium, Iron, Zinc, Arsenic, Chromium, Lead & Copper levels of the Caney Fork River at today?

"..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.."
--Samuel Adams

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Any New Domain is a Horror
written by Carl, March 06, 2009

I really hope the ICANN does not add new names for anything other than country codes. The .info, .biz are a disaster-- just a way to hijack trademarks and hold them for ransom. We already have too many top level domains-- it's not supposed to be used for advertising or virtual property to sell.

Companies right now can use eco.org

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Here's why we need a doteco domain.
written by greendig, March 11, 2009

For all of the many reasons listed above we DESPERATELY need a dot eco domain. I'm in general agreement that we shouldn't have a bazillion more extensions, but this one is key precisely because it could provide an incentive to have companies "walk their talk." And to Joe's concerns, that's why we need a real green business standard. Read more here: http://www.mnn.com/technology/...eco-domain

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Good
written by Mason Whitaker, March 12, 2009

This is a good idea, I don't know why so many people would be against it :/

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written by Ron, March 12, 2009

It's good to have a healthy discussion of issues but there always seems to be the equivalent of the drunk jerk at the bar on these blogs.
Hey Joe and especially das21- Why don't you take your negativity and pull your heads out of the dark space and plant them in the ground. Maybe they'd make good fertilizer.

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eco-brilliant!
written by wallemac, March 13, 2009

Al does it again. The man is brilliant - everything he touches turns "green."

wallemac

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Director, Comm/Mark
written by Robin, March 13, 2009

And ".green" is also being proposed...

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written by russ, March 18, 2009

Sounds terrific!

All the politically correct greens - like gore - can jump on it and impress hell out of all their little friends.

Just the green mafia at work again.

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written by Fred, June 26, 2009

al gore has been doing some great things for the economy

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Thank you Al Gore and the .eco teams!
written by Sweetness Organic, May 02, 2010

On behalf of our website http://www.sweetnessorganic.com/ we wholeheartedly applaud this effort to keep environmental awareness and activism at the top of everyone's daily agenda. We feature green businesses and news spots on environmental issues. Thank you Al Gore and the .eco teams!

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