As Airly, we create a diverse team full of extraordinary personalities. Our new intAIRview interview series aims to show our team members from a professional and more private side. Time to find out who is behind the mission to repair the air.
Today, intAIRview’s guest will be Ray Caccavale, our Sales Manager in the US.
Who are you and what is your role at Airly?
My name is Ray Caccavale, I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona US and I am the US Manager for Airly.
What drives you to work with Airly?
Working with a company like Airly has been my goal since I finished graduate School. I was offered a job at a government agency working as an Environmental Scientist to help prevent worsening air pollution in my home State. However, working at the State was not really the environment conducive to accomplishing that goal. An opportunity at Airly was exactly what I was looking for, and when I was offered an initial “internship” with Airly in March of 2020, I had to jump at the opportunity.
How would you describe the attitude of Americans towards solving the air pollution problem?
Unfortunately, as with most environmental problems, Americans are embarrassingly unaware of the issue. People here know pollution is “bad” but not exactly why it is, nor how to implement real change.
You have a grade in urban environmental planning. Can you tell us more about it?
I have an Undergraduate degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Arizona. I was interested in studying this field because I wanted to pursue a career where I could incorporate environmentally progressive technology into our outdated, and inefficient urban infrastructure. Being from Phoenix, I have seen what some of the most inefficient and poorly designed urban cities can do to our environment, and how they can negatively affect the people living there. I wanted to be able to give back to the city I am from and help it become not so inefficient and detrimental to both its residents and the environment.
Wildfires in the US are a huge problem nowadays. How do you think this problem can be solved?
I took a wildfire course in University by one of my favorite professors, Dr. Donald Falk at the University of Arizona, and he taught me so much about the dynamics affecting wildfires and the environment. Unfortunately, the wildfire problem here in the US is the product of several factors. Firstly and most obvious, global temperatures are rising and with that the regional yearly precipitation is decreasing. Especially here in the US South West. We are currently in the middle of one of the most serious droughts on record, our reservoirs are drying up, and snow melt after the winter months is almost non-existent.
Additionally, wildfires were unfortunately demonized in the mid to late 1900s in the US through a program funded by the Federal Government known as the Smokey the Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign. Flagshipped by the loveable Bear-Park Ranger, Smokey. The Campaign was unfortunately wildly popular throughout the US, and was built on a misunderstanding of what wildfires are and how they are good for the forests.
Because of this campaign and the ever increasing global temperatures and lower levels of seasonal precipitation, forests in the Western US have been plagued by scorched earth style fires occurring like clockwork every spring and summer. Had wildfires been allowed to burn for the past 7 decades and not immediately put out and fought at first sight, we would not be in as dangerous a situation as we are now. Frequent and small wildfires are good for the forests of the Western US. They clear the forest floor of small and dead shrubs, removing seasonal fuel, and making way for new plantlife to take hold.
Because they have not been allowed to burn, we are seeing immense wildfires burning through 80 years of untouched, dry, forest floor fuel. Moving quickly with or without the assistance of the wind, these enormous wildfires torch thousands of hectares of land in a single day and oftentimes there is nothing any Government agency can do about it.
And in my opinion, that is the right thing to do. Let them burn. Let the fires catch up to the times, remove the fuel and burn through what needed to be burnt 50 years ago. It seems like a harsh position, but the only way to stop future gigantic fires is to remove the fuel they require today. Let them burn, allow the natural process of burning and recovery take its course but on a massive scale. Protect the homes and properties we can of course, but at this point that will be difficult.
What are you passionate about outside of work?
-Outside of my work with Airly I volunteer at a dog shelter with my wife, and we foster some dogs occasionally. I also love to play soccer and when I can I jump into a pick up lacrosse game as well. My wife and I really enjoy traveling, and are taking advantage of our time with only dogs and no kids just yet, and are traveling at every opportunity we have!
What surprised you the most when you became part of the Airly team?
The most significant surprise for me when I joined Airly was the age of Wiktor, our CEO. I had never worked for anyone younger than me, and being relatively young myself, only 25 when I was first hired, I was not used to that. I do really enjoy the dynamics within Airly, we are a tight group and we all work together to accomplish the company goals. There is no one assignment for each person, we are all willing to work together and do what we must to get the job done.