Spam Hurts the Environment
by Gerald Trites, FCA

The scourge of Spam, that has plagued the internet almost since its founding, has received a lot of publicity. Spam makes up as much as 80 - 90% of the total emails sent out. We don't see all of it because most companies and people make use of spam filters, that recognize much of it and take it out of circulation. However, in order to get to the filters, the spam is consuming computer resources. And computer resources consume energy.

A recent report prepared by a consulting firm, ICF, and McAfee has revealed that spam contributes to the production of 17 million tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent to more than 2300 cars on the road and represents more than 20% of all the energy used by computers worldwide.

While there has been some attention in the past few years to the impact of computing on the environment and what can be done to reduce that impact, there has been little attention given to the impact of spam. This is a timely study. The conclusion is that the fight against spam must proceed against its originators, and not wait until it moves through the internet and reaches the filters.