So Much for EnvironmentalismSo Much for Environmentalism

So Much for Environmentalism

Environmentalists have been screeching for some time about the importance of not using disposable diapers--that traditional cloth diapers are less destructive to Mother Earth. But the British government went ahead and studied the carbon footprint of disposable vs. cloth--and didn't get the Politically Correct results. From the October 19, 2008 Times of London:

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.

You see, one of the problems with the modern environmental movement is that it is more about forcing people to wear hair shirts and otherwise be miserable than saving the environment. Much of environmentalism today is the modern equivalent of medieval monks flagellating themselves.