by Dimitri C. Michalakis

John G. Rangos, Sr. is an environmental pioneer and a giant in the field of recycling and waste management. His company has been cited by the Florida EPA for having one of the finest environmental records in the world and he’s even designed a comprehensive environmental plan for Greece. His many innovations include the recycling of waste-generated methane into energy and the conversion of common boiler-ash into the components of cinder blocks and anti-skid material for highways. “Waste by-products can be converted and they can be converted into the energy we need,” he says, still going strong at 79, but now more than ever involved with his many civic and charitable works.

Most recently his longstanding Rangos family charitable foundation dedicated a new 10-story, state-of-the-art research center at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, funded a groundbreaking study of colon cancer and a new research facility at Johns Hopkins and donated 71 acres of recreational trails to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. He’s also an archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a founder of International Orthodox Christian Charities, and as a proud Chian, was a co-chair of the 52nd National Chian Convention. “You do your best, that’s all you can do,” he says, “and hopefully you’ve accomplished something that will benefit mankind.”

Are we making progress on the environment and recycling?

I think waste management has made some of the most extraordinary strides in ensuring security and being efficient. Waste management itself has provided an extraordinary recycling program that is second to none in the world, and the proof is that it’s working and doing a great job in creating power by recycling methane and by combustion burning and it’s adding a great resource to the country. There were bad actors in the business before. And I have fought them and brought regulation to the state of New Jersey, for example, where we pushed that violators get serious penalties and this has been enacted throughout the United States. (Carol) Browner, who was nominated by Obama for (White House energy czar) was the Florida EPA chief when we were building the largest waste site in the world there. And she told me, “I’ve never signed (off on) this for any other company; but your company, Mr. Rangos, has one of the finest environmental records in the world.” The environmental record of our company is one of the best ever in the history of the United States and I’m awfully proud of that.

This takes a lot of engineering, but your background is in business.

For the business of environment you have to have engineering and I don’t know of a Greek who’s not capable with math—it comes natural to them—and they’re some of the best engineers in the world. I looked at companies and said to myself it’s amazing that every one of these companies has either a number one or two technical engineer that’s a Greek and educated in Greece. I wanted to take a trip to Greece and see what kind of academic program creates these kind of people. We went to Patras University and one of the men I went with, a world-renown engineer, said to me, “You know what, John, these guys are as good as I am. These engineers are really brilliant.”

What do you think of the Obama energy team?

I was busy and I missed the announcement. But if it’s anything like his previous Cabinet appointments that he’s made he’s well on his way. What I heard and I liked is that he’s not against offshore drilling if it’s part of a broad program that includes everything. I am a strong advocate of nuclear power and he can get those millions jobs (he talks about) just by building 200 nuclear plants in America. France gets probably 90 percent of its power through nuclear and has never had an accident.

You were a supporter of JFK. Do you see any parallels with JFK and Obama?

Very much so. Let’s go down the human aspect first: very charismatic, extremely bright. Can think on their feet very rapidly and have a great ability to draw the masses to them. Both men have these capabilities, which make them super-politicians. Both are fantastic communicators. I don’t think two men have ever existed who have been more charismatic than JFK and this young man who’s going to be our president now. I think he’s one of the great political geniuses of modern times.

Why do you feel service to country is such an important part of your life?

I love my country, and I love my Hellenism, and if you’re truly a Hellene, and you’re truly an active American, you will try to shepherd in any way possible your talents to best serve the American people.

Did you ever think of going into politics yourself?

God forbid.

Why do you say that if you’re so active politically?

First of all you have to be willing to compromise yourself. I am very careful about the commitment that I make and I will not compromise myself. And you can’t be a politician with that concept.

Isn’t that part of democracy—the interests of the many over the interests of the few?

Dimitri, I don’t find anything wrong with somebody else feeling that whichever direction they want to take is democracy. I think you have to compromise in order to come to a common denominator: we make a decision and we’re not all going to get what we want, but we make a decision. But I don’t have that in my personality. It’s not in me. I have strong feelings about what I believe and I don’t compromise.

Is that something in your personality or did somebody inspire you?
I helped my granddad get his citizenship—his name was Konstantinos Svokos. He was a legend. A shipping captain. Livanos had baptized both my mother and my uncle John. So my granddad was deep in shipping as all the Svokos were. FDR was coming to my town and making a whistle stop in Weirton, West Virginia when I was a boy and I said to my grandfather, “Granddad, we’re going to go and listen to the president. He’s campaigning.” And he said, “You’re crazy, I’m not going to take little boy to this.” And I said, “Granddad, you don’t understand. You’re going for your papers and Congress can change the laws about anything. It can even change the law about whether you can become a citizen or not. You have to be active.” So he put four Coke cases together so I could see and I stood there listening to FDR talking to the Democrats of Weirton, West Virginia.

What was it like growing up Greek in Weirton, West Virginia?

It had one of the most booming steel mills in the country and my grandfather had a restaurant right there at the Number One gate of the plant. I was four years old when I went to kindergarten, and I had a hard time speaking English because we had a little Greek colony there and all we talked was Greek. But I caught on in about a year and I was able to speak fluent English. The Italians had their several blocks, the Greeks had theirs, the Poles had theirs. My grandfather spoke about 15 languages, because he was an old sea captain, and he’d walk down the street and see a Russian and he’d talk to him in Russian, a Serb in Serbian, an Italian in Italian. I’d say, “Granddad, how did you learn all these languages?” He’d say, “When you’re a sea captain you have crews from all over the world. You learn their language or they don’t know what you’re talking about.” He was a great old man. He’s the backbone of what built me into what I am.

Where did you get your spirit of public service?

I think it’s part of what I grew up with. Ernest T. Weir was an industrialist like Carnegie, and when we were in the middle of the Depression he built a Weir Christian Center in Weirton where all of us could go and play basketball and other sports. And then he built a giant park, and all the time I’m saying, “Why does this man care for us so much?” And what I learned from him is to always give back. If you know West Virginia you know that we don’t have much wealth, but our patriotism is so enormous that it’s legendary. And my patriotism is from growing up with these roots. As I got into commerce I saw what a great country we have and what opportunities it’s given me. There’s not too many countries where you can rise from common roots to building an empire. And many Greek Americans have had this privilege in America and they should think more about giving back.

Do you think that Greeks in America are doing that?

To be politically correct I should say they are. But I would also have to say that they could do a lot more. They are doing some things, but they can do a great deal more. This country has been very good to them, and this country has given so much to them and I think they should be the example for everybody, not only for Hellenism, but for the whole country.

Do you think America will get over its current economic problems?

America will get over this economic problem and will be the leader of the western world again, because without America I don’t think the possibility of true freedom can exist. Maybe it leans a little right sometimes, or a little left, but Americans’ love for freedom and Americans’ love for democracy will always be a beacon for the world.

Do you think the incoming Obama administration is on the right track?

I was a friend of McCain’s and I was for him because of his experience and because I thought he had given a lot of correct dissent with this administration when they were wrong. But, frankly, in watching Obama pick his Cabinet, I am extremely pleased. I think he’s doing an outstanding job and I think he’s got one of the best Cabinets I’ve ever seen put together in modern American politics.

The best and the brightest?

Absolutely, to the point it’s kind of quizzical in my mind how one man can have the confidence of all these great people that he’s surrounded himself with. And it has to be that he’s deeper and stronger than we think. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him, but I’m intending to at some point. I have an idea about how to finance the medical program for this country (health care) which I’m not going to disclose right now. But I’m close to a couple of the congressmen who are close to him and I’m going to give the idea to them because I think it can be a balanced way to bring medical support to forty million people who have no insurance.

Your family comes from Chios?

My family comes from northern and southern Chios. The Rangos family is Kalamoti and the shipping side, the Svokos, come from the south. I usually go back every other year. Chios is gotten so modernized. When I was in the Poli there were so many brand-new homes I was startled by it. We’ve been breaking records in building new homes. They have made a fantastic transition. Markos Marinakis is trying hard to bring (many services to the island): sewers to one town, help with the schools in another town. He’s always working to make progress there.

What is the legacy you hope to leave to your children and grandchildren and the community at large?

When you are fortunate enough to succeed, then you owe your fellow citizens and your country payback. That’s the way I look at it. And I’ve been honored that God gave me the ability to succeed and I will try to do my best to my last day to bring about something better with my efforts. You do your best, that’s all you can do, and hopefully you’ve accomplished something that will benefit mankind.