Clean Air Board Bold Innovators for
the Environment (CABBIE) Awards
CABBIE Award presented to Mike Hurley
Mary Kay Durham, Mike Hurley and Win Cleland
March 19th, 2009 - The Clean Air Board annually presents Clean Air Board Bold Innovators for the Environment, CABBIE awards to people who are making a real difference for air quality in Central Pennsylvania. We are pleased to present Mike Hurley a CABBIE award for leading the effort to significantly reduce school bus idling in central Pennsylvania and beyond.
Mike served as President the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) in 2006-2007. With 3600 members state-wide representing 450 school districts, Mike had the opportunity to take a leadership role in promoting school bus anti-idling guidelines statewide. Last year, he was appointed to the School Committee and provided the membership with idle reduction articles and tips, including a presentation…all before we were assured that an anti-idling regulation or law would ever be passed.
Mike led the development of the first school district anti-idling guidelines in the region, provided anti-idling materials and developed a training session for District school bus drivers, installed anti-idling signs at District schools, again before the recently enacted law required anti-idling signage and invited CAB members to present to school bus drivers the health concerns of diesel particulate matter.
Presenting this award to Mike Hurley also recognizes the leadership that Mrs. Mary Kay Durham and the Carlisle Area School District has shown in making the district a model for reducing school bus idling to protect students’ health.
Plaque reads:
CABBIE Award
Clean Air Board Bold Innovators for the Environment presented on March 19, 2009 to Mike Hurley in recognition of diligent work to protect students’ health by promoting a school bus anti-idling program for Carlisle Area School District and the state of Pennsylvania.
Presented by Clean Air Board and Dickinson College Department of Physics and Astronomy
Dr. Howard C. Long (photo courtesy of Dickinson College)
John Steigleman (photo courtesy of Dickinson College)
Over the past few years Carlisle area citizens have been concerned about the deterioration of air quality in Central Pennsylvania. In fact, the Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania (CAB) was formed in fall 2005 after over 100 Cumberland County physicians signed and published an open letter informing the community of the growing danger of ozone and particulate pollution and the risks it poses to the pulmonary and cardiac health of our citizens. However, this was not the first time concern about air quality was an issue in Cumberland County.
In the early 1970s, Professor Emeritus Dr. Howard C. Long, Chairman of Dickinson College’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, noted that many people had become aware of deteriorating air quality due to growing industrialization and motor vehicle use. Dr. Long learned that public health agencies linked increases in emphysema to the intake of particulate matter into the lungs. He decided to study air quality in Carlisle by measuring the solid particulates found in the air.
In 1973 the Department of Physics and Astronomy purchased a nephelometer – a device that uses the scattering of light to measure the density of solid particles that are small enough to inhale. Dr. Long and Department Technician, Mr. John Steigleman, began monitoring the density of particulate matter with diameters of 10 millionths of a meter or less (PM10). They collected data at Dickinson College several times each day and night for seven years. The data collection by Mr. Steigleman and its analysis by Dr. Long provided our community with a valuable record of how PM10 varied by time of day and time of year as well as a picture of the level of PM10 and how it was changing throughout the mid-1970s.
In recognition of their work, Professor Long and Mr. Steigleman were honored at the recent CABBIE awards, held in Tome Hall on Dickinson College campus March 5, 2008. These awards, co-sponsored by the Dickinson Department of Physics and Astronomy and by the Clean Air Board of Central PA, stand for Clean Air Board Bold Innovators for the Environment. They are given annually to reward those who have made significant contributions to air quality in Central Pennsylvania. Professor Long and Mr. Steigleman were recognized for their contributions to initiate air quality research and data collection in the Carlisle area thirty-five years ago. Past CABBIE recipient Jensen Gelfond (Dickinson ’08) made the presentations.
As part of the awards ceremony Dr. Priscilla Laws, a former colleague of Dr. Long, discussed the research findings of the 1970’s project and how those findings help us understand the dependence of particulate matter on the time of day and time of year. She also compared the earlier PM10 levels recorded with the nephelometer to the PM2.5 levels recorded more recently by “Airestotle”. (Download Dr. Laws' PowerPoint presentation.)
“Airestotle” is the nickname of the new EBAM unit (an automated device that measures either PM10 or PM2.5) that monitors PM2.5 in the Carlisle area. This state-of-the-art portable EBAM unit was purchased during the past year by CAB, in conjunction with the Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley. PM2.5 is the density of fine particulate matter having diameters of 2.5 millionths of a meter or less and is believed to be a major cause of the increase in respiratory diseases such as asthma and pneumonia that physicians have observed in this area.
Press Release, March 5th, 2008 (PDF Format)
Award Recipient Howard C. Long's Acceptance Speech
Dr. Priscilla Laws' Powerpoint Presentation
Sentinel News, March 6th, 2008
"Dickinson College, Clean Air Board Honor Duo for Research"
"Clean Air Board Bold Innovators for the Environment"
The ‘CABBIE’ is an award given by the Clean Air Board to people from the business community, medical community, schools or faith organizations in recognition of their leadership in addressing the air quality issue in our community.
From the Business Community:
Keen Transport, Inc.
Jesse Keen is Vice President of Keen Transport Inc., responsible for the purchase and maintenance of approximately 500 trucks and 1200 trailers that are owned and operated by Keen Transport, Cressler Trucking and PDQ Transport. From 1969 until October, 1999 he was president and owner of Keen Truck Rental & Leasing, a multi state leasing company that operated in excess of 2000 pieces of equipment. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Ameriquest, a national purchasing consortium of truck leasing and trucking companies. Jesse has served on numerous industry associations & trade groups, including president of Central Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. Locally, he has served as Chairman of the annual United Way campaign & on the United Way Board. Most important for us, he serves as an advisor to the CAB executive board. From Jesse, we have been given a peek into the obstacles a driver faces while on the road as well as the maintenance, repair and cost of owning a fleet of trucks. A life long resident of Central Pennsylvania, he currently lives in Harrisburg with his wife Lorraine.
Pushing the transportation industry to take a leadership role in becoming part of the air quality solution, Jesse organized an educational symposium for area trucking firms and warehouse owners to raise awareness of the steps they can take to improve air quality. Jesse and Bill Keen have taken the lead in investing in the latest environmentally-friendly technology for their equipment, and have been active advocates to the DEP Environmental Quality Board for the CAB initiated state-wide anti-idling regulations.
For their leadership in showing their industry and us, how to be better stewards of the environment, Bill and Jesse Keen of Keen Transport, Inc. receive the CABBIE award.
From the Central Pennsylvania Community:
Dr. Russell and Jean Macaluso
Dr. Russell and Jean Macaluso asked us to convey this message for them:
After living in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Macalusos were ready to live in a place that was not only beautiful but free of the stresses of city living. With two children in tow, Russ and Jean moved to Cumberland County seventeen years ago because it appeared to be an excellent area to work and raise a family. At that time, the landscape was more rural than urban and the presence of trucks was minimal. Now that the warehousing and trucking industry has grown in leaps and bounds, changing the landscape and air quality, as health professionals, their concern for healthy air to breathe has increased as well. They are interested both in gathering facts about the quality of the air we breathe and to do what they can to reduce the amount of pollution in the form of particulate matter in that same air. They realize that they are doing this not only for their three children and future grandchildren but for this great community as well.
For stepping forward to allow the DEP to emplace an air quality monitor on their property, Dr. Russell and Jean Macaluso receive the CABBIE award.
From the Medical Community:
Dr. Philip Carey
Born in Gettysburg, Philip Carey received his undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Dr. Carey received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1976 and received his Fellowship in Thoracic Medicine from Geisinger Medical Center in 1987. He has been a physician in Carlisle since 1980. He lives in Carlisle with his wife, Rebecca and son, Christian.
Dr. Carey gave us the impetus to start the Clean Air Board by writing the letter signed by over ¾ of the Cumberland County physicians, alerting the central Pennsylvania area residents to the dangers of PM2.5. He continues to raise the awareness of the public by giving presentations to elected officials, congregations, schools and organizations.
For his leadership in raising community awareness to the dangers of PM2.5, Dr. Carey receives the CABBIE award.
Jim and Marion Johnston are both retired physicians - Marion a retired pediatrician and Jim a former surgeon. They have resided in Carlisle for the past 42 years, and have been very involved in community groups, such as the Carlisle Theatre Board and Stevens Mental Health Center. The couple received the Molly Pitcher award for their community service. Marion and Jim have also spent a significant amount of time volunteering their medical services in third world countries such as Africa and Guatemala. They enjoy spending time with their five children and eleven grandchildren.
In the summer of 2005, after the EPA designated many areas around the country, including Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and several other areas within Pennsylvania, as non-attainment for fine particulates , Jim and Marion raised the alarm in the medical community encouraging them to take action. They have been dependable supporters of CAB activities, still working behind the scenes to instigate action to improve our air quality.
For their leadership in sounding the first call to action on the dangers of PM2.5, Drs. Jim and Marion Johnston receive the CABBIE award.
Dr. David Masland is a life-long resident of Cumberland County except for his time in medical school and serving his country in Panama. As a boy he used to ride horses to the top of the mountain and see clearly across the valley. As a young man he had the opportunity to study grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park and to learn falconry from the naturalists, Frank and John Craighead. His education and military service complete, David and Elizabeth - Trouble to her friends - came back home and raised their daughters, Janet and Kim, and their son, David, while practicing medicine. Now retired they have grandchildren they care about. Dr. Masland has been the leading citizen of his generation in promoting conservation in our area, helping with all nature preservation efforts in recent memory. Two summers ago Dr. Masland risked his reputation by placing his name on an open letter from physicians concerned with air pollution in Cumberland County. You see, he was the one who took the crank calls. Dr. Masland has received a number of awards for his good works but none of these awards have meant as much to him and his family as his resignation from the school board. CAB wants to change that. In the summer of 2005, Dr. Masland solicited area physicians’ support for the letter written by Dr. Phil Carey on the dangers of PM2.5. After receiving 106 signatures, he placed an ad in area newspapers to raise awareness and as a call for action. We want Dr. Masland to think of what he set in motion by publishing that open letter in the local newspapers every time he looks at this oak tree. This monitor that we are celebrating today is a direct result of that letter.
For his leadership in organizing physicians to raise community awareness of the dangers of PM2.5, Dr. Masland receives the CABBIE award.
From the Religious Community:
Second Presbyterian Church
When Associate Pastor Jennifer McKenna read about Central Pennsylvania’s poor air quality in the advertisement published in area newspapers by physicians in August 2005, she inspired her church members to take action to address the problem. Second Presbyterian Church Sessions and members have continued to inspire and support the Clean Air Board while encouraging all congregations to join the Clean Air Board.
For its members' unending support, which allowed the vision of CAB to become a reality, the Second Presbyterian Church receives the CABBIE Award.
From the Student Community:
Greg Ellerman
Greg graduated from Dickinson College in 2006 with an Environmental Science major. Born and raised in Newville, Pennsylvania, he feels fortunate to have attended college so close to his home and family. During the summer of 2006 Greg completed an academic internship which involved the new Dickinson Biodiesel project. Greg's main objective for this project was to create a system for producing Biodiesel for use in all the college’s diesel equipment. Greg was instrumental in the entire process, from establishing contacts of local businesses to obtain used oil, picking up and delivering oil barrels, setting up the whole processing equipment, processing the oil and washing usable fuel. Now that he has completed his Dickinson degree, Greg hopes to attend Shippensburg University to begin his Masters degree in Geo. Environmental Studies. For now, Greg is enjoying working on the farm and riding horses.
For his efforts in bringing a more environmentally friendly alternative fuel to the Dickinson College community which helps improve all of our air quality, Greg Ellerman receives the CABBIE award.
Jensen Gelfond
Jensen Gelfond is a junior Environmental Studies major at Dickinson College. He originally hails from Long Valley, New Jersey, though his parents now live in the beautiful city of Asheville, North Carolina. For the past two semesters Jensen has completed research with CAB on solutions to diesel truck idling. On campus Jensen has worked for the past 5 semesters as an Environmental Sustainability intern, implementing programs to aid in Dickinson's recycling, waste reduction, and global warming awareness programs. Last semester he participated in Dickinson's integrated environmental studies watershed semester, where he spent a month traveling to Louisiana to study marsh wetland loss and Hurricane Katrina. He resides in Dickinson's Center for Sustainable Living, which is an environmentally friendly intentional community on Dickinson's campus. When not stumping for the environment, Jensen enjoys backpacking, racquetball, and listening to baseball on the radio.
He has done two research papers for not only his classes, but for the CAB. The first paper is called Legislative and Technology Solutions to Truck-Generated Diesel Particulate Pollution in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and another paper that will be completed soon is called Reducing Diesel Truck Idling in Pennsylvania: An Examination of a Proposed Statewide Anti-Idling Regulation. Jensen received national attention from Argonne National Labs, who read his paper, "Legislative and Technological Solutions to Truck-Generated Diesel Particulate Pollution In Cumberland County, Pennsylvania" after it was posted on the CAB website. CAB used some of his research for our presentations.
For his efforts implementing the latest environmentally friendly programs for Dickinson College and for sharing his research papers with us, Jensen Gelfond receives the CABBIE award.