How much energy is used by the internet servers and telecomunications infrastructure to distribute SPAM?

Question

Every internet server or router need processor time to deliver any e-mail to it's correspondence Inbox. Microprocessors needs energy to execute it's instructions. Much of that energy came from oil. Overheating the planet. If we know the amount of energy the SPAM is wasting it could lead to harder penalties to those who use the Internet for that purpose.

Answer 1

I HAVE NO IDEA. But ask this guy.  He knows a lot:

http://photobucket.com/mediadetail/?medi...

Answer 2

enough energy to make greenpeas peased off greenly...so, maybe congress should take it up in a serious way...eggsept, ain't nuthin like green eggs and spam for tots....enough energy to build the fence to keep out illegals in a heartbeat...with a lot of voltage !!! or imagine a wall of mouldering spam....yeah, that's the ticket !!! that's what we should do....

Answer 3

Good point. About 90% of e-mail traffic is spam according to my experience, however that is still very small fraction of overall Internet traffic.

Besides, not all energy comes from oil, and the amount of oil that comes into feeding telecom infrastructure is quite insignificant compared to what is needed to feed car engines, for example.

Not that I am defending spam, but your statement was not exactly right. We need better arguments.

Answer 4

Thanks for giving me yet another reason to have an email address that ends in .edu . I use my college email address and I get no spam whatsoever, more people should try to use them, that in itself will make a difference for the future of our planet.

Answer 5

I don't like the spammers but the people that get a spam message and buy something drive me nuts.  If nobody bought this c**p there would be no spam.

Answer 6

The ggogleplex server farm that does all of the searches for google earth, internet browser, gmail.. etc, uses slightly less than 5 megawatts, which is a lot of power but is generated from hydroelectric sources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

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Answer 7

Less than it does if they mail the **** to you.

Answer 8

It is a big problem. I have heard that 40% of the internet capacity is used up by span and viruses and spy ware and other malicious activity. The energy use is small though compared to transportation, construction and heavy manufacturing. Negligible really.