My conscience is cleared

Back in the day before the Last Amazon was born I made the decision I would use cloth diapers and went about shoring up a great supply of cloth diapers before her birth. I was mentally willing to do my part to help the environment but my resolve only last past the first sleep deprived week. It was in desperation that I turned to disposal diapers. Well, I am happy to report that one can now go back to using Pampers and Huggies with a clear conscience thanks to this Times Online article

A government report that found old-fashioned reusable nappies damage the environment more than disposables has been hushed up because ministers are embarrassed by its findings.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has instructed civil servants not to publicise the conclusions of the £50,000 nappy research project and to adopt a "defensive" stance towards its conclusions. The report found that using washable nappies, hailed by councils throughout Britain as a key way of saving the planet, have a higher carbon footprint than their disposable equivalents unless parents adopt an extreme approach to laundering them.

To reduce the impact of cloth nappies on climate change parents would have to hang wet nappies out to dry all year round, keep them for years for use on younger children, and make sure the water in their washing machines does not exceed 60C. The conclusions will upset proponents of real nappies who have claimed they can help save the planet
.
Restricted Whitehall documents, seen by The Sunday Times, show that the government is so concerned by the "negative laundry options" outlined in the report, it has told its media managers not to give its conclusions any publicity.

Here’s the thing, if the diapers are not washed in extremely hot water the germ factor becomes a contributing factor to an ongoing case of diaper rash. Miserable babies make for miserable parents which puts a huge blight on my social environment.