A British government report that found that old-fashioned reusable diapers 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 publicize the conclusions of the $100,000 diaper research project and to adopt a “defensive” stance towards its conclusions.

The report found that using washable diapers, hailed by municipalities 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 diapers on climate change, parents would have to hang wet diapers 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 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

The conclusions will upset proponents of real diapers who have claimed they can help save the planet.

Would this work in Costa Rica?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4969413.ece

Even though it is touted at the biggest event to hit Jaco, for me it was a disappointment. The biggest event which was filled with drunk and rowdy ticos was the Chica Reef contest. This is really the main event and gets away from the basics IMHO.

Once chica contests were for chica surfers, now it is filled with professional models who know nothing about surfing. But if this is what you wanted to see, you certainly got your fill. La Teja which is a blue collar newspaper which always posts a “model” on the front page, showcased the contest. This just goes to show the nature of this contest. Billabong, RedBull, and QuickSilver host better events and it mostly focused on the surfing and the surfers. If you want more information about the contest you can check here it is in Spanish but you can get the idea. Surfing is international.

I finally break radio silence. Not sure really why I haven’t popped my head up to see whats been going on around me. I think what has happened is that for the first time in my adult life I’ve fallen into a routine. My life currently consists of my family (wife and 2 boys), my job (mostly the surf camp), surfing as much as I can (4 hours/day?), a couple of close friends I hang with a bit (before falling asleep at the sad hour of 9pm) and a bunch of friends and family I never have the time to write back to on facebook or call up on a Sunday night just to catch up.

We have had a niñera named Rosie for the last three months or so, she is awesome. She works Monday – Friday and half days on Saturday. It really helps to have the help, she definitely helps Holly so incredibly much and she allows me to focus on surfing so I can improve. Plus its easier to bring the entire family to the beach and for Holly and I to surf together. Or Rosie, since she is now surfing too. Is it me or is everyone surfing these days? I love it, reminds me of all of those surf movies and Malibu before I was even born, as though I may have missed out on it the first time around but not this time.

Normal day: I wake up at 6am, perhaps a little earlier or later depending on when Happy or Otis want to get up, but pretty much the crack of dawn as far as I’m concerned. We watch Discovery Kids, eat Cheerio’s, sometimes hang out in the surf camp restaurant or on the beach for an early morning low tide cruise.

7AM or 8AM or so: go surf. Surf Casitas, surf the rivermouth, surf Avellanas, surf the reefs. Surf a lot if its good and surf less if it sucks. It always seems to be pretty good somewhere fortunately. more…