Can .TV save the world?
Caught a story on NPR the other day about Tuvalu’s ambassador to the UN. Turns out he — and the island nation he represents — are banking everything on stopping global warming. Noble cause, but one that’s not without some self-interest. Given that most of the habitable land on Tuvalu is less than 6 feet above sea level, rising oceans would have a pretty direct impact on the island. So, rather than putting all of their cash into stilts and rubber boots, they’ve sent a delegation to the UN, to plead their case before the world:
“The world has moved from a global threat once called the Cold War, to what now should be considered the Warming War,” [Afelee] Pita told the Security Council. “Our conflict is not with guns and missiles but with weapons from everyday lives — chimney stacks and exhaust pipes.”
No kidding. That’s definitely what it’s all about, Afelee (sorry; couldn’t resist). But what really got me going about the Tuvalu story wasn’t the country’s single-minded focus on climate change. Rather, it was the source of the funds that have enabled it to send a delegation to the UN in the first place: the .TV ccTLD. Turns out that, rather than being just an overpriced TLD designed to lure TV networks, crazed extroverts, transgender activists and domain squatters, .TV is actually a TLD with a mission (along with being an overpriced TLD designed to lure TV networks, crazed extroverts, transgender activists and domain squatters). While other country-level domain registrars are content to hawk their wares for personal enrichment, the Tuvaluans (Tuvalese? Tuvaluers?) have put their windfall to good use. Unfortunately, the cash is running out; apparently, all of the good .TV names have already been snapped up, and the squatters have a lock on the secondary market. So, Pita might be headed home soon. Hopefully, though, someone else will step in to fill his shoes. Maybe Nauru can give it a go — though I suspect that .NR somehow isn’t going to fill the coffers the way .TV did for its neighbor.
