On Wednesday, Al Gore threw his considerable support behind a new social venture that aims to secure the .eco domain name. Dot Eco LLC‘s founders say that by financing environmental initiatives with a positive impact on the environment, the new domain will be much more than a trendy label.
Founded by Fred Krueger and Clark Landry in 2008, the new social venture’s charter states that profits from .eco registration fees will be used to fund scientific initiatives and research in climate change, ocean analysis, and economic policy, among others.
“We fully support Dot Eco LLC in its efforts to secure the .eco top level domain through the ICANN application process and look forward to working with Dot Eco LLC to promote .eco,” said Gore. Speaking on behalf of the Alliance for Climate Protection, Gore said “This is a truly exciting opportunity for the environmental movement and for the internet as a whole.”
Dot Eco LLC will be applying through the ICANN gTLD application process in late 2009. It remains to be seen whether the new domain serves useful social and ecological purposes — as is its goal — or whether it will become just another piece of web branding static that only serves to line the deep pockets of entrenched interests.
About Timothy B. Hurst
We Just We Would Say We Think .eco Is A Great Idea!