About Rick Sikes, Contributor to “Renewable Energy Facts and Fantasies” – Renewables and Clean Transportation at the Municipal Level

Rick Sikes manages the vehicle fleet for the City of Santa Monica – a municipality that has taken quite a progressive stance with respect to environmental stewardship. Rick did a great job in our conversation that became the book’s chapter called: Renewables and Clean Transportation at the Municipal Level.

Back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s the oil embargo from OPEC hit — there were actually two incidents way back then — everybody was affected by the same things, lines at the gas stations, and so forth. And yes, Santa Monica is progressive, and wanted to do its part. So we started looking at alternative fuel vehicles and REFP — Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy. They started buying some propane as a lot of people did, and natural gas, ethanol and whatever else was out there. In 1984 we had the first city Reduced Emissions Fuels Policy, and then about 1998, the city began a sustainability plan. And what you see here today is simply an extension of that plan.