I think a lot about diapers. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the overall effect of cloth vs. disposable. Yes, using cloth- natural fibers in particular- will lessen what I leave on this planet. And for me, that reason is good enough.
But...I read all these websites advocating FOR cloth, and it makes me wonder. Overall, how do they REALLY compare? You know, it takes pesticides to grow conventional cotton. It takes energy to produce the fabric, gas to get the fabric to you, energy to run your washing machine, etc, etc, etc. The argument that has always bothered me is the "disposables are filling our landfills" statements. When I was in college a thousand years ago, I got a degree in Anthropology. During my stint as a student, I did a report on something called "Garbology"- taking garbage and landfills and using their contents in anthropological studies. I remember reading that a common misconception is that disposable diapers are filling our landfills, that in fact, they are a very small percentage of what is found.
So that's the history of what lead me to do a search today for "Garbology + Diapers" to see what I could come up with. And here's what I found: Beyond The Pail. It's long, but a very interesting read.
That said and read, I still think cloth is better. Hands Down. :)