We know spammers are often the crooks behind online fraud, ID theft, data breaches and other acts of cybercrime. Now, however, we’ve learn that they’re guilty of jacking up the planet’s CO2 emission count as well. The average spam message generates 0.3 grams of CO2, according to a study conducted by consultant firm ICF International for security vendor McAfee, which has a vested interest in anti-spam products. Multiply that 0.3 grams by the approximately 62 trillion spam e-mails sent out in 2008, and that adds up to 17 million metric tons of CO2, or 0.2 percent of total global CO2 emissions.
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Study: Your Inbox Isn't the Only Thing Spammers Pollute
Posted by: Richard Adhikari April 16, 2009 11:44 AMWe know spammers are often the crooks behind online fraud, ID theft, data breaches and other acts of cybercrime. Now, however, we’ve learn that they’re guilty of jacking up the planet’s CO2 emission count as well. The average spam message generates 0.3 grams of CO2, according to a study conducted by consultant firm ICF International for security vendor McAfee, which has a vested interest in anti-spam products. Multiply that 0.3 grams by the approximately 62 trillion spam e-mails sent out in 2008, and that adds up to 17 million metric tons of CO2, or 0.2 percent of total global CO2 emissions.