Following weeks of misleading statements to the press and Internet media by leaders of the “Big Room” effort, the founding members of Dot Eco LLC today published an open examination challenging the economic viability and environmental impact of the Big Room plan.

In contrast to Big Room’s problematic business model and small prospect of funding environmental causes, Dot Eco LLC has pledged 57% of profits from the .ECO top-level domain for efforts to combat climate change based on a proven business model that minimizes unnecessary costs. In addition to an economic examination, the 17-page paper from Dot Eco LLC looks at potential conflicts of interest at Big Room and its registry service provider, Afilias.

The Dot Eco LLC plan for the .ECO web address is backed by environmental leaders including former Vice President Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation (watch the video featuring Mr. Gore describing his support for the Dot ECO LLC plan).

The Dot Eco LLC team brings unmatched experience creating and running top-level domains and other Internet businesses. As a result, the Dot Eco LLC plan will provide millions of dollars to support organizations and individuals with a proven track record in fighting global warming – and in the process use the .ECO web address most effectively.

“We’re releasing this open examination because we’re tired of Big Room’s leaders mischaracterizing our efforts and making exaggerations about their own plan, which after careful analysis proves to be unworkable,” said Fred Krueger, founder and CEO of Dot Eco LLC.

Early next year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is expected for the first time to allow individuals, businesses and organizations to apply for their own web addresses, known as top-level domains. The Dot Eco LLC effort to secure .ECO is based on the basic principle that funding generated from .ECO registrations – by qualified users, and in a manner that prevents “greenwashing” – should be maximized to provide resources for the fight to save our planet.

Among the findings outlined in the open examination:

  • Big Room’s operating costs, based on fee estimates to back-end registry provider Afilias, are nearly triple the operating costs for Dot Eco LLC – depriving environmental groups of critical funding
  • Big Room’s plan for use of the .ECO web address has nothing to do with preventing climate change
  • Big Room’s cumbersome registration policies for .ECO will discourage use – and thus dramatically reduce funding for urgent efforts to combat climate change – by implementing procedures that have failed for other top-level domains
  • Comments from Big Room leaders to the media routinely mischaracterize the Dot Eco LLC plan and make misleading claims about their own plan’s viability
  • Big Room’s management team and Afilias present significant conflict-of-interest concerns with ICANN that need to be addressed

This open examination is the latest in a series of analyses by Dot Eco LLC of the most effective ways to ensure the .ECO web address fulfills its potential for protecting the environment. Earlier this month, Dot Eco LLC released a Green Paper (http://www.supportdoteco.com/green-paper/) outlining in detail the guiding principles of how Dot Eco LLC will ensure the .ECO top-level domain provides maximum impact in the fight against global warming.

STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FOR DOT ECO LLC

Al Gore, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to prevent global warming
“For more than three decades I have been trying to raise awareness about the very real and growing threat of the climate crisis. Today, as part of this effort, I am here to propose a new top-level domain called “dot eco” for corporate, non-governmental, and individual environmental websites.”

Maggie L. Fox, president and CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection
“The .ECO effort is a timely and important one – bringing about broad awareness of and solutions to the climate crisis. The Alliance for Climate Protection is excited to be working with Dot Eco LLC and supports their commitment to non-profit climate and environmental organizations such as ours.”

Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club
“We’re delighted to put our support and endorsement behind Dot Eco. Your customers, your friends and your colleagues will know that you’re putting your address where your values are – at Dot Eco.”

ABOUT DOT ECO LLC

Dot Eco LLC was founded in 2008 by Fred Krueger, Minor Childers and Clark Landry to secure, operate and promote the .ECO top level domain in order to support environmental initiatives and awareness. Dot Eco LLC will be applying for the .ECO top level domain through the ICANN gTLD application process.

The advisory board of Dot Eco LLC 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.