A random bit of browsing this morning revealed to me that, with little apparent fanfare, the Encyclopedia of Life launched a few weeks ago. Right now there are about 30,000 animals in the database, which is about 1% of what they hope to accomplish over the next ten years.

Here are some notable links related to the EOL:

E.O. Wilson’s TED Prize wish.
Kevin Kelly’s meditation on the EOL.
Write-up at the New York Times.

I could go on at length about the significance of this project, but I think of Mr. Wilson just about covers it in his talk.