Diapers

I was raised by hippies. We ate honey instead of sugar, had no television and ate fruit leather. When my baby brother was born we used clothe diapers and being the eldest by 7 years, I had the dubious privilege of changing many of them. We had a service that would take the stinky bin away and replace it with beautiful snowy white diapers each week. Looking back now, I have no idea how they got those stains out!
Fast forward 16 years and our first little one was born. Cloth or paper? Mr. Mom is quite interested in research and he reported as potent a source as Consumer Reports declared that disposable are better for the environment! Though possibly not for the pocket book.
Regardless, cloth diapers have come a long way in the years since my little brother filled them. Current brands including but not limited to bumGenius, FuzziBunz, GroVia, Rumparooz, Blueberry, and Thirsties fit like a disposable and even have disposable inserts to make washing the hourglass shaped cloth part not get soiled in case of a dirty diaper. People save lots of money using cloth, and I even ventured with Super Hero to go cloth.
They were an expensive investment, but it was a one time purchase. I felt like I was being a better mother. I am not really sure why this is... I did not enjoy changing the dirty diapers with cloth, but Super Hero was very accommodating and would have only one B.M. very early in the morning so I could use cloth the rest of the day, just changing out the wet liner. Becaus the cloth gets so very wet, I did have to change it more often than disposable. I am of the opinion that wet diapers can go a long way and if baby isn't complaining, there is no reason to go changing it unless it is hanging around baby's knees. The other good thing about cloth is it decreased rashes. Super Hero was allergic to some disposable diapers and I didn't have to worry about it when I used cloth. It did, however, increase the laundry and since Super Hero was #7 the only reason that worked was everyone else was doing their own laundry. I was only in charge of mine, Mr. Mom's and Super Hero's.
Paper diapers, also called disposable, are very convenient, especially for traveling. Even my granola parents didn't use cloth when we were traveling. It is just too difficult (read gross) to deal with a poopy/wet cloth diaper when traveling. I do have a liberal definition of traveling. It means walking out my front door. 
The benefit of disposable diapers is primarily ease. Since I am Mom, I pay myself. Sometimes it is buying lunch for the gang while we are shopping rather than bringing it or waiting until we get home. Sometimes I pay myself to not wash cloth diapers. With Thing 1 and Thing 2 pooping all day, every day, that is my current pay and I must say - I am a pretty good deal. $100 a month for everything I do and my life is easier on top of it all? Woo! It's a win/win situation. 
Beware, however. Not all disposable diapers are the same. Now you may think I am encouraging you to go for the gold: name brands or whatever. Not so. Instead, I am suggesting you watch your babies precious little bum for rashes. Although I love the price of Luvs (and personally, I think they smell pretty good, I mean before they are used) Thing 1 and Thing 2 get a nasty rash from them. But not from Walmart or Kirtland brand. 
A final thought on the debate: There are some studies that say cloth diapers are better for a boy baby's future sperm production. All I can say is Mr. Mom was raised on disposable and we have 9 children. Whatever limitation there may be doesn't seem terribly imposing.