What Would Buddha Recycle? by Rosemary Roberts

I can't say this was a great book but I can't say it was a bad book either. The book was just okay. If you have never read a book on going "green" or "green" living then this is a really good book, if you have you'll find this book just okay. That's where I was - it was just okay.
Rosemary Robert's book came highly recommended and I can see why. It's a great introduction to becoming more environmentally friend but she didn't really have anything new to add and I think her book is nearly outdated. The print date is 2009 but many of her statistics talk about 2007 and refer to 2010 as if it's some futuristic year. That was a little off putting but not enough to ruin her points.
I was disappointed that she didn't really include more Zen principles or Buddhism into her book. It really felt like a gimmick - with that said I will recommend the book.
The chapters stand alone which if you sit and read the whole thing cover to cover is not always a good thing. The chapters are short and deal with a different aspect of going "green" but she repeats some information. I am sure this is to catch those who will only read the chapters that appeal to them.
Rosemary includes some websites but I would have liked to see a page or two dedicated to all the websites in her book - something that prevented me from having to go through the whole book to find a particular website.
I found her book to cover a lot of information that got me thinking. I like to think of myself as green and she pointed out ways that I hadn't really considered. I don't really think about shoes when I think about buying more environmentally friendly clothes. Even though her chapters are short, they really take the time to explain all the aspects (good and bad) of each particular point. For example, she talks about cotton and how it's processed. How cotton farms impact the environment from water usage to chemicals. She went on to how the cotton becomes clothes and the impacts there as well as shopping concerns. We may buy something that's organic but if it had to travel 2000 miles to get to the store is it really an environmentally friendly item. So many good points. I like that she plays a sort of Devil's Advocate as she writes the book.
Don't let the title fool you - this is all environmental with no religion thrown in. There are short quips about how environmental living can be Zen and a few comments about Buddha at the beginning of the book but it's really just another environmental book.
So be environmentally friendly (and economical) and get this book from your library. There is something for everything - I didn't know there was a humane society program for teens. I know what my son is doing this summer.