At its annual North American Conference in San Diego, California, EI Digest, the hazardous waste industry's most prestigious informational journal, presented its 2007 Environmental Leadership Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to business, industry, and the environment. The 2007 award was presented to Theodore Reese, President and Founder of Cadence Environmental Energy of Michigan City, Indiana for his more than 39 years of environmental leadership and technical innovation. In presenting the award, Cary Perket, President, Environmental Information Ltd. said, "In 1975, as a young Chemical Engineer, Ted Reese recognized the harm being caused to the environment by improperly discarded solvents, oils, and other chemicals. As a chemical engineer, he knew these discarded materials were rich in carbon and had potential use as energy. The implications of this idea, to use waste as energy, would offer significant benefits to business, industry and the environment. Ted went to work and built a network of processors who, using his method, transformed liquid industrial waste into a fuel called ChemFuel for cement kilns. His idea created an industry and proved that protecting the environment and benefiting industry can be compatible concepts; indeed, they represent the best in American business. For these reasons, Ted Reese has been chosen as our 2007 Environmental Leadership Award recipient. " On receiving the Award, Reese said, "It is an honor to have been selected for this prestigious award and to be in the company of other distinguished recipients. It gratifying to see how a simple idea, with technical and marketing development, can grow to such a positive force for environmental and industrial good. " After more than 30 years, Reese is still active at the helm of Cadence. With more than 20 major recycling patents, he is still exploring technical innovations that produce industrial/environmental benefits. His latest technical achievement, Mixing Air can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cement kilns by 50%.