Kill a Spammer, Save a Tree: On Wednesday, McAfee Avert Labs released a report concluding that email spam is responsible for 17 million metric tons of carbon emissions each year, or about .2% of total greenhouse gas emissions. In this piece from the Wall Street Journal blog Digits, the 62 trillion spam messages sent each year (more than 25 a day for every man, woman, and child on the planet) is equivalent to driving an automobile around the equator 1.6 million times. According to the study, which was conducted by ICF International, spam filtering saves 135 terawatt hours of electricity a year, or the equivalent of taking 13 million cars off the road.
Calling All Angels: House Bill 1105, which provides a tax credit to angel investors in Colorado, passed the State House by a wide margin. Specifically, the bill would provide a tax credit of 15% on the amount invested for each of the first two years after investment to a maximum of $100,000. The bill still must gain senate approval, but if passed it will be interesting to see the magnitude of impact. How much money is out there sitting on the fence just waiting for that little nudge over the edge?
