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that was considered especially clean, but today there is a lot of pollution

there because of [from] the cars, and the municipality simply closes the

roads once in a while in order to lower the pollution level. The city
developed in every direction, and like in Israel, only now they're working

on a city train. That's what I thought about when I started working with
people in Israel: let's not make all the mistakes that were made in

Phoenix."
Portland is the opposite example: in the beautiful valley in which it is

situated [it sits], on the banks of a river, Portland enjoys the title of a

green city, with an excellent public transportation network, hybrid buses,
trains, etc. "The city planners simply did a good job", explains Arnold,

"Instead of growing in all directions, they drew a circle around the city

and said: Inside this circle we're going to grow, and outside we'll preserve
the agricultural land."

- When was this decision made?

"It started already in 1973."
- '73? In hindsight, it was actually the seventies that are

considered years of uncontrolled development and resource
exploitation.

"Yes, but those were also the years of the oil embargo. The American

public tasted what it‟s like to live without cheap, available oil. The one
who initiated the idea in Portland was the local administration, which was

always advanced."
- It's common among the 'greenies' to claim the exact opposite of

what you're saying – according to them the economy,

capitalism and globalization are ruining the world.
"That's the old way of thinking. The new concept is called 'the bottom

line of the triangle' – profitability, environment, culture. 'Tikun Olam', he

says in Hebrew: "This is capitalism's greatest chance." In his opinion
[method], the first operative step as part of mending the world is to cut

back as much as possible with consumption of energy and perishable or
polluting natural resources.

Underground Conservation

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