First off, Lantern's right about the first few weeks of adjustment. But this doesn't necessitate disposables. My wife and I subscribed to a cloth diaper service, which was actually cheaper per week than buying disposables. The environmental costs would be interesting to try to work out: on the one hand it is more pollutive because a delivery truck picks up and drops off the diapers. On the other hand, rather than dozens of families washing their own diapers, the service would use less water and energy at their centralized location. At any rate, the service couldn't be beat for convenience and cost, although clearly this may not be available in all areas of the country.

People should factor the advances in cloth diaper technology, as well. A quick google search will yield diapers of astonishing variety and sophistication. They have gotten better not only in terms of ease and (for green sake) durability, many of them are made of a blend of materials that take less effort to get clean.

Lastly, not to be overlooked is the fact that cloth is much easier on baby's skin, even compared to non-chlorine diapers: fewer creases, more breathing, softer on the skin. Our little poppet has not had a single rash in her six months of life.

I can't recommend cloth highly enough. You may have to do some research and thinking through what works best for you, but even beyond the environmental factors, the days of cloth being a time-consuming, leak-ready, pain in the ass alternative are LONG gone.