2012 Annual Report

Staff

June Blotnick, Executive Director

Michelle Barbeau, Manager of Administration and Programs

Rebecca Cheatham, Manager of Medical Advocates for Healthy Air

Kelly Picarsic, Manager of Online Communications

2013 Board of Directors

Leigh Gannon, Chair

Mary Joyce, Vice-Chair

Jonathan Gross, Treasurer

Camina Davis, Secretary

Ericka Ellis-Stewart

Sarah Gay

Jim Godfrey

Andrew Kittelson

June Lambla

Martha Odom

Board Advisors

Nancy Bryant

Betty Chafin-Rash

Liz Hair

Larry Raymond, MD

Lisa Renstrom

www.CleanAirCarolina.org

PO Box 5311 * Charlotte, NC 28299 * 704-307-9528

Michelle Barbeau, Kelly Picarsic, June Blotnick and Nancy Bryant

The mission of Clean Air Carolina is to ensure cleaner air quality for all of us by educating the community about how air quality affects our health, advocating for stronger clean air policies, and partnering with other organizations committed to cleaner air and sustainable practices.

Our Mission

A Message from our Executive Director

2012 Volunteer of the Year

Lucille Howard

Lucille began volunteering for Clean Air Carolina after carpooling with June to a League of Women Voters (LWV) meeting in Greensboro in 2010. She has been an integral part of our organization ever since. Lucille has spent countless hours up-dating databases, researching hospital contacts for our diesel campaign and stuffing envelopes. She has volunteered at nearly every event we’ve hosted in the past three years and has lightened our administrative workload immensely. Lucille has lived in Charlotte for 38 years and worked as a newspaper reporter and paralegal. She also volunteers for her church, her neighborhood association and is an active member of the LWV.

Dear Friends,

Thanks to your generous support Clean Air Carolina made great strides in expanding our educational and advocacy programs statewide in 2012. With author and biologist Sandra Steingraber inspiring us with her research on how toxins affect children’s health at a special program in March, we embarked on a journey to educate parents, medical professionals and state legislators. Medical Advocates for Healthy Air (MAHA) held meetings across the state to organize an Advisory Board and build support for saving North

Carolina’s air toxics rules from “deregulation”. We succeeded in getting a seat for a pediatrician on the air toxics Science Advisory Board. Clean Air Carolina expanded its campaign statewide to urge hospitals and universi-ties across the state to adopt clean construction policies to reduce toxic diesel pollution on their campuses which is both carcinogenic and a power-ful climate forcing agent after CO2. These are just a few of the air quality issues we addressed in 2012. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2013, we will pause to look back at our successes while staying focused on the many challenges to clean air and a stable climate in the year ahead. We are grateful to have you partner with us on this journey.

For clean air,

Executive Director, June Blotnick, Bill Toole and Lucille Howard.

June was awarded with the Community Sustaina-bility Award from Sustain Charlotte in March.

2012 Financials

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2011 Fund Balance

2012 Income

2012 Expenses

2012 Fund Balance

2011 Fund Balance $86,925

2012 Income $155,263

2012 Expenses $141,062

2012 Fund Balance $89,458

Year in Review 2012

Protecting Children’s Health Promoting Smart Growth for a Sustainable Future

Our Medical Advocates for Healthy Air (MAHA) initiative expanded statewide to include over 300 medical and public health profession-als. Meetings were held across the state and an advisory board was formed to oversee MA-HA’s efforts.

MAHA members worked tirelessly to defend NC’s Air Toxics Program using multiple tactics including meetings with state officials, testifying before the House Environmental Review Commission and a legislative press conference to help save the program.

While the legislature ultimately weakened the program, we were successful getting a pediatrician appointed to the Air Toxics Science Advisory Board.

CAC encouraged local leaders to make Clean Transportation choices by investing in multi-modal systems and opposing new highways that divert funds from mass transit. As part of this effort, we hosted meetings with Natural Resource Defense Council’s national trans-portation staff, local government agencies and other organizations interested in reducing vehicle miles traveled in the region.

We also helped NRDC staff organize focus groups of Northern Mecklenburg County residents to determine their interest in using public transit more and their cars less.

CAC continued its work with the Charlotte Ozone Garden Project at five schools in Mecklen-burg County. Ozone gardens allow students to see the impact of air pollution on native plants and learn how to protect their health from ground-level ozone. We also partnered with Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation to plant a new garden on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway near Westfield Road in Char-lotte to increase the pro-ject's exposure to the general public.

Interest from Historic Rural Hill Farm and the Carolina Raptor Center in Northern Mecklen-burg will result in an expanded public education program about ozone pollution.

CAC and our partners won a lawsuit that put the brakes on the proposed Monroe Bypass in Union County which would increase sprawl and do little to improve congestion on US 74. We also helped local residents organize to raise awareness about the real reasons the bypass is being built and to discuss alternative solutions. CAC joined the Catawba Riverkeeper in a lawsuit filed by SELC objecting to the Environmental Impact Statement filed by the NC Department of Transportation for the Garden Parkway in Gaston County—another unnecessary highway through rural NC that would promote sprawl and further deteriorate our region’s air quality.

Executive Director June Blotnick was elected Chair of the Air Quality & Climate Change work group for Centralina Council of Government’s Connect Our Future regional sustainability planning effort. The work group will oversee a multi-year initiative to assess the level of black carbon emissions from construction equipment used in the region and identify policy solutions to reduce toxic diesel emissions.

CAC reached out to over 400 hospitals and educational institutions in North and South Carolina with materials promoting “clean construction policies” to improve air quality at their construction sites. Partnerships with Duke University and Davidson College were formed.

CAC hosted biologist, author and cancer survivor, Dr. Sandra Steingraber, at a special event entitled “Why Care About the Air: The Untold Story of How Air Pollution Harms Our Children.” Over 450 people attended the program to hear Dr. Steingraber speak about the prevalence of toxins in our environment and ways to get involved in policymaking to protect public health.

In coordination with this event, CAC established a partnership with Moms Clean Air Force, a national online advocacy organization for parents committed to taking action to protect children from air toxins. We designed a NC page on their website and post monthly blogs from moms across the state.

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2012 AirKeeper Award Recipients

Bill Toole Bill is a partner with Robinson, Bradshaw and Hinson where he practices environ-mental law. He is a member of the Belmont City Council and helped Gaston County residents understand the full impacts of the “Garden Parkway,” a proposed 22 mile toll road in southern Gaston County. As a leader of Stop the Toll Road, Bill built a highly effective public awareness campaign that resulted in over 7,000 petition signatures against the toll road being delivered to the Turnpike Authority and the town councils of Gastonia and Belmont in 2009. Bill is now advising residents in Union County as they evaluate and take action with regard to the Monroe Bypass. Bill is an avid cyclist leading the Belmont City Council’s effort to become a cycling destination by creating a bicycling master plan, developing a mountain bike park, and hosting a USA CRITS Speed Week race in the spring. He remains focused on establishing a vibrant community that respects Gaston County’s industrial heritage and the natural beauty of the Catawba River.

Dr. Bob Parr Dr. Parr is an emergency physician practicing in Wilmington and a member of Medical Advocates for Healthy Air’s Advisory Board. Bob has been active since 2008 in the Stop Titan coalition, standing in opposition to the proposed cement manufacturing and strip mine facility on the Cape Fear River. Bob is a passionate voice for clean air and has penned numerous op-eds and letters to the editor in Raleigh and Wilmington newspapers to educate the public and policy makers about the dangerous impact the plant will have on air quality. He was a leader in our in fight to save North Carolina’s air toxics program this year, preparing health statistics on affected counties and speaking at our press conference at the legislature. Bob recently returned from a trip to Medley, Florida, where he visited the Titan Cement plant to assess its impact on local air quality.

2012 Financial Report Clean Air Carolina Members

New CAC member, Debra Stanton shows off her

new shirt!

Thank you to all of our members and volunteers who continue to commit their support to Clean Air Carolina!

Mickey Aberman John & Rebecca Autry Gary Barbeau Connie Belk Phyllis Bertke Betsy Birkner Dianne Blanke Philip Blumenthal Robie Collins & Amy Boardman Linda & Mitch Bollag Tom & Rita Bowers Marian & Walter Brawer Mollie Brugh Nancy & Ron Bryant Chris & Amanda Buchanan Mary Lou & George Buck Alan & Elizabeth Burns Elizabeth Cable Nancy Carter Roger Coates Lynn Coleman Lori Collins Barbara Conrad Robert Cook Steve Copulsky Hamilton Cort Peggy & Bob Culbertson Sarah & Geoffrey Curme Gene & Marie Anne Daniels Camina & Erich Davis Kimberly De Simone Dorothea Delano Andrew Dews, MD Nancy Duncan Ann Macon Ellis Steve English Eric Everett Dan & Helen Faris Deborah Leiner Fields Robert Fitzpatrick Leigh Gannon Patrick & Noreen George Jim & Lillian Godfrey Julie Gros Jonathan Gross Bill Gupton Liz Hair

Dennis & Sue Harvey Peter & Marlene Henriques Beth Henry Dana & Nancy Hershey Ted & Meghan Hogan Meg Houlihan Lucille Howard Nancy Howe Kathie & Charles Johnson Nathalie & Carlos Jorge, MD Ann Joyce Jarrod Karl William Keenan James Kenny Andrew Kittelson Isabella Lacki Christopher & Audrey Lakin June Lambla Robin Lane Felicia Lee David & Joyce Lemmond Julie Lerner Levine Yi-Jun Lin Mary Long Peter & Mary MacDowell Ben & Kathy Martin Glenn Mauney Jonathan & Kim Miller Mary Joyce & Steve Monahan John & Pat Moore Sharon Baker & Peter Moore Grady & Kim Moseley Mary & James Mueller Aaron Newlander Katherine Oates & Dan Murrey Martha Odom Carolyn Pace Amy Brooks & Chris Paradise Robert & Pamela Parr Nancy Pierce Dennis & Betty Chafin Rash Lawrence Raymond, MD Laurie Reed Carol Reid Lisa Renstrom Tamela Rich Nancy Riley

John & Holly Robbins Arthur Robinson Betty Robinson Jessica Saxe, MD Ken & Jane Schorr Rebecca Scroggins Sharen Shiffer Allyson Sipple Roy & Julie Smith Dick & Carol Spain Udo Robitsch & Lisa Springer, MD Fred & Alice Stanback Debra Stanton Toccoa Switzer Marjorie Tate Harry Taylor Bob Thomason Brenneman Thompson Cindy Thomson Susan Tompkins Gayle & Steve Tuch Kate & Zach Wagner Frank Warren Jim Warren Tom Warshauer Samdy Welton Pamela & Steven West June White Keith & Mary Wilson Lisa Zerkle & Andy Zerkle, MD

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