The Myth of Public Domain

The copyright act has been extended to 95 years. That means that anything created today will not hypothetically be in the public domain until the baby born today is dead. What culture is that child missing out on?
In the book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig, he talks extensively of the public domain. If such a thing exists there is no easy way to find it. Eric Eldred strove to create an Internet site to bring the works of Nathanial Hawthorne alive for his daughters. His public site has become http://www.eldritchpress.org/ He ran into trouble when works that were meant to pass into the public domain didn’t, which means that he cannot legally add them to his archive.
I was struck that there is no list of copyright owners. This is amazing. How does one prove that they have the copyright at all? I’m reminded of another example in the book of Alex Alben, who wanted to create a documentary of all the movies that Clint Eastwood had ever been in interspersed with interview from Eastwood and those who knew and worked with him. To use the clips, he had to get permission from everyone in the clips. All told it took him and a team more than two years to get the rights to the clips.
I use this example, because to be able to legally use the copyrighted works of anyone, you have to get their permission. Sounds simple, but how do you find that copyright owner? There is no list! If you were able to find the copyright owner, there is no guarantee that is the current copyright owner.
I have found a few things on the Internet that in the public domain. Yet, there is no relevance to me. I mean, if I find a movie that was created in 1923, what would cause me to take the time to watch it? I think there has to be a unifying force that gives these works a central source. I mean for example, if you want to search the web, you go to Goggle. Can’t there be something similar for the public domain? Something to give these works a historical significance. Also, if I like that work, there should be a way to be connected to other works that are either similar or related. Where is the YouTube of the public domain?
I fear with most things, the laws have to be set for the lowest common denominator. Laws are not for those that work within the system, but those who would seek to exploit it. In Eldred v. Ashcroft, Eldred and Lessig attempted to get the Supreme Court to set a limit on copyright extensions. They failed by a margin of 7-2. According to Lessig because they attempted to give legal arguments instead of showing the court why it was important to release works into the public domain.
As I sit here listening to my public domain classical Internet web station, I can’t help but think how rewarding having those tunes have been to me over the semester. What works are kept from being restored and achieved because it is too expensive to avoid legal ramifications? What else am I missing?