Save the Environment: "Can" the Spam

One rather quick way to improve the environment would be to eliminate all spam e-mails. How is another matter.

Last year, an estimated worldwide total of 62 trillion spam e-mails were sent, according to a new report, "The Carbon Footprint of E-mail Spam," commissioned by McAfee. Looked at in terms of energy, spam uses 33 billion kilowatt hours. That amount represents all the electricity used in 2.4 million American homes. Put another way, that usage is equivalent to driving 1.6 million trips around the world in terms of carbon emissions.

I'm ready to do my part -- I will cease sending unrequested e-mails containing Aunt Minnie's apple pie recipe (even though I'm told it won first place in the 1915 Ford County, Kansas, county fair).