As an Internet marketer weather using a lading page or a blog we all aim to build a list of prospects to whom we can market our products or services to. All this is legitimate as we use what is called a double opt-in method before we start sending out emails and newsletters.

In the news recently I read an article on the impact “Spam email” has on the environment – all the reasons why we all need to do our part in protecting our planet! On the face of it all you wouldn’t think twice of the effect of sending emails out has on the environment, but take a look at this recent article on spam and you will see “Why spam is like a traffic jam”

The impact of of spam e-mail on the environment is equivalent to putting an extra 3.1 million cars on the road. More than 60 trillion junk messages were sent last year, using enough energy to power a city almost the size of London, new research revealed.

Each message accounts for 0.3g of CO2 – the equivalent of driving 90cm (3ft) – you can see how this can add up to quiet an alarming volume of CO2 in time and quantity sent.

Jeff Green from the Internet security company McAfee which carried the study was quoted saying “Spam has an immense environment impact”. Last year a hosting company McCob was one of the big source of span and was shut down – the volume of junk e-mail dropped by 70% but the report says that it has returned to previous levels.

So as a word of caution please be sure to do all you can to exclude yourself from these statistics and be a responsible marketer. If you must run an email campaign then please do it the legitimate way and only send emails to those who have requested it – and above all, please keep it at a minimum especially if you are one of those lucky marketers who happens to have a huge mailing list.

Let common sense prevail and let us all do our bit to safe guard our planet – its very easy to overlook such little facts but collectively they have a huge impact on our planet and our lives.

Have your say – please leave a comment!