18 globes to decorate J'lem for green awareness

The globes are an initiative of the Chicago-based nonprofit Cool Globes, which aims to heighten climate change awareness.

By SHARON UDASIN
Cool Globes370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Cool Globes370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Eighteen giant globes, each with a diameter of 2.6 meters, will decorate Jerusalem’s Alrov- Mamilla Esplanade near Jaffa Gate from now through summer, as a call to environmental action.
On display in Israel for the first time, the globes are an initiative of the Chicago-based nonprofit Cool Globes, which aims to heighten awareness about climate change by decorating cities with these giant structures.
The globes have been brought to Jerusalem as part of the First International Jerusalem Symposium on Green and Accessible Pilgrimage, taking place from Sunday through Saturday and initiated by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Naomi Tzur.
Intrinsic to the globes’ designs are scenes that relay problems and solutions of the international climate crisis, the organization explained.
The globes are quite well traveled, and have made their way through a number of United States destinations, as well as European cities, the group said.
After the High Holy Days, the globes will be auctioned off to generate revenue for educational programs on environmental issues for students in Jerusalem.
“This exhibition is all about tikkun olam (repairing the world), and there is no city that embodies this spirit more than Jerusalem,” said Cool Globes founder Wendy Abrams. “Climate change is an issue that will affect all of Earth’s creatures, regardless of religion, ethnicity or borders. And again, Jerusalem speaks to everyone.”
Cool Globes emerged as part of the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005, and was then incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2006.
The organization’s pieces have adorned the streets of Chicago, Washington, San Francisco, Sundance, Los Angeles, Houston and Cleveland, as well as Copenhagen, Geneva, Marseille, Vancouver and Amsterdam.
An upcoming exhibit will also go on display in Boston this August, the organization said.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jerusalem globes will occur on Monday night, in honor of Earth Day and in the presence of President Shimon Peres.