It is difficult to keep track of the individual’s carbon footprint, as they produce carbon by simply living, whether it be through diet, purchases, or just breathing in and out. It’s easy to make the connection between environmental harm and waste such as single-use plastic bags, which release emissions in their production and take up precious space in landfills, but it’s important to keep in mind that seemingly harmless aspects of our lives can make a serious impact on the environment. One such example is email; sending and receiving emails requires electricity to send, store, and power the devices used to view them. In 2016, the average business user received 45,224 emails with an equivalent of 110 miles driven in an average car. Of course, this estimate might be high for the typical user, but people with multiple email addresses may be getting spam emails from several brands on different accounts. Most people don’t care that their inboxes are full of junk mail; if they need to find something important, they can just look for it. However, this can really add up, as the typical spam email has a CO2 equivalent of about .3 grams, and a normal email has a footprint of about .4, and emails with large attachments can rack up an equivalent of around 50 grams of CO2.

For some readers, this is deeply unfortunate. Being unaware of the impacts of spam emails can mean a lifetime of accidentally being added to mailing lists without bothering to unsubscribe. Thousands of emails later, is it too late to recover?

Fortunately, it is not too late, and there’s no hard deadline to hit. To swiftly unsubscribe from a spam list, hit control+F, search unsubscribe, and click the link. Then search for all emails sent by that organization, select all, and delete. It’s kind of satisfying to rinse, repeat, and watch the number of emails in the inbox drain. This can be done over time for a few minutes a day, or what is less daunting for some is seeing what emails they’ve received today and unsubscribing from those lists. Then the next day, unsubscribe from any new ones. Eventually, there will be nobody left to fill the inbox with spam. According to Cornell University, “if the 62 trillion spam messages sent out annually are eliminated, 20million tons of carbon dioxide could be prevented from entering the atmosphere.” Whittling down the incoming and stored emails accumulated over the years can decrease the amount of energy wasted on unwanted information.

Don’t worry about receiving junk mail after death, though, because accounts that are inactive for long periods of time can be deleted. As of December 2023, a Google account will be deleted after two years of inactivity. However, users can manage their preferences under the Inactive Account Manager and even list contacts that will be notified before an account is shut down. 

Finally, although email has an environmental impact, it is a relatively efficient form of communication. Although spam messages aren’t integral to the lives of the typical user, online messaging is very valuable for communicating across distances, and is much cleaner than physical mail. According to Cornell, “sending a 10 gram letter made from recycled paper emits around 140 grams of carbon emissions,” which is significantly greater than its electronic counterpart.

I had no idea that junk email could actually have an impact on the environment, but it’s a good reminder that even the aspects of our lives that aren’t tangible can have hidden effects, and those can add up. One example of this that I’ve heard about a lot recently is AI, and how the servers that manage it require a lot of water to stay cool. I haven’t done any research on that yet, but perhaps it should be the focus of a future Synopsis!

It can seem overwhelming to tackle abandoned email accounts, but it’s easier than it often seems. Just by searching “Google” on one of my old emails and deleting by page, I was able to remove over 150 emails in less than a minute. I know it takes time, but it reduces the amount of energy wasted on information you don’t even want. Plus, maybe you’ll finally be able to use that backup email again.

Hope you enjoyed another edition of what individuals can do to help the environment! Stay tuned to learn with me!

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https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en

https://cornellpolicygroup.org/env/is-email-bad-for-the-environment