Digital cameras help to save trees! This is because as more and more people move away from conventional cameras they are unwittingly reducing the use of chemicals that were earlier being used to process the film. These chemicals, especially the developer and fixer solutions, were serious environment hazards. More importantly, you don't have to print every picture in the roll of film, you can print just the one or two that you like, thus saving lots of paper as well.

1. Chemicals

Law requires that chemmicals need to be neutralized before disposed of. Unforunately, most film processing centers released the chemicals into the drain because of high expenditure involved in treating them before discharge. A lot of photographers have been found guilty of this also.

2. International Waters

They are not the only ones who broke the law with abandon. The cruise ships in the international waters were even bigger culprits. As a routine, these ships first developed pictures shot by passengers and then dumped the film-processing chemicals into the open ocean. No one cared, since no restrictive laws apply to international waters. This is the reason why our oceans and green reefs are dying at a rate faster than the rain forests.

3. Digital Cameras

They can now thank the makers of digital cameras for saving them from some of the chemicals that earlier poured on them from ships. The same can be said of ponds and rivers that used to be polluted with chemicals flowing out of film processing labs, and that incidentally still flow out of such labs in the third world.

4. Inkjet Printers

There are some green campaigners who point fingers at inkjet printers - used to take prints - and rechargeable batteries used in digital cameras. Of course, they must realize that very few people take prints of the photographs. Most transfer the images into computers electronically. Also, used cartridges are either recycled or dumped in landfills. Very rarely they find their way in water bodies.

5. Rechargable Batteries

Impacting digital cameras are rechargable batteries - don't buy batteries ever again! Get rechargables. In particular, get NiMH rechargable batteries with a charge of at least 2200 or higher. These will last about 8 hours and they can be charged in as little as two hours. These batteries can be charged up to 1,000 times before they have to be thrown away. Even if you theoretically used your camera every day for a year, you still would have years before you had to get new batteries.