Green Traveler: Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem's new light rail powers forward along a grass track between Damascus Gate and Jaffa Gate.

August 19-29, 2011 -- Jerusalem was the last city I visited on my summer 2011 journey through Europe and Israel and it is also one of the most environmentally-friendly cities in the world thanks to its mix of ancient and modern infrastructure, traditional religious observations and forward-thinking political and economic leadership.

Before I get to Jerusalem's new light rail line that is providing residents with a clean, green form of transportation, there are a couple of ancient factors that automatically make the city green. The most obvious factor in keeping the air clean is that the Old City was settled during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, in the 4th millennium BCE (Before the Common Era). The last time I checked, the internal combustion engine had not been invented yet so the Old City was not made for vehicular traffic. That means there is a large section of the city that is car-free and therefore pollution-free. Also, Jerusalem almost completely shuts down from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for Shabbat. That means thousands of cars and buses are taken off the roads for 24 hours every week, thereby dramatically reducing the city's carbon footprint.

Now with the new light rail line, Jaffa Road is permanently closed off to motor vehicles, reducing pollution along West Jerusalem's main artery from the Old City to Mount Herzl. In fact, there has been a dramatic 80% decrease in air pollution on Jaffa Road since cars and buses were replaced by light rail trams. And in addition to reducing air pollution, light rail reduces noise pollution. In contrast to honking taxis and rumbling buses, light rail is incredibly quiet.

In addition to new green public transportation projects like the light rail line, Jerusalem is also on the forefront of promoting the use of electric vehicles. Electric car operator Better Place is partnering with the city to add a network of electric car charging stations all over the city.

Biking is also big in Jerusalem. There is a group that gives midnight bike tours of the old and new city. And it is easy to rent a bike like I did and get to know the City of Peace on two wheels. I biked during Shabbat when the streets are empty. I started at Davidka Square where my hostel is located, and biked along the light rail tracks up Jaffa Road to Mount Herzl and then down to the Christian village of Ein Karem. While Jerusalem doesn't have a bike sharing system like Tel Aviv yet, the city is on its way to becoming the bicycle capital of Israel.

And of course, as in the rest of Israel, there are rooftop solar water heaters everywhere in Jerusalem. I even saw solar water heater systems on top of the ancient buildings in the Old City, like those pictured to the left in front of a church in the Armenian Quarter. And Jerusalem has many white roofs, also called cool roofs because they reduce heat transference to buildings by reflecting sunlight, thus reducing the need to power air conditioners and saving energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

While Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, it is also taking environmentally friendly actions such as the new light rail line to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy The City of Peace.

Click here for more observations from Jerusalem on Josh's Travel Blog.

Here are more pictures from Jerusalem. Click here to see the full photo set on Flickr.



Here is a musical video montage of Jerusalem's new light rail system.



Here is video of me bicycling across the Chords Bridge and up to Mount Herzl on a Shabbat Saturday when the streets are empty and the light rail line is not in service.