Performer Rick Denzien is on the road often, tooling around the nation from show to show. If you run into him, feel free to ask about his preferred style of transportation. Perhaps he’ll even take you for a spin.
The singer-songwriter is a super supporter of electric vehicles. And he adores sharing that passion.
In addition to proudly using a plug-in vehicle for his work and his personal transport, Denzien organizes events that showcase electric vehicles to the public, including a Drive Electric Earth Day event in his hometown in Pennsylvania.
Drive Electric Earth Day
The first ever Drive Electric Earth Day promotion on a nationwide scale is in April, encompassing dozens of local events around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
Thrive Fest is Denzien’s event in Ambler, Pennsylvania. It features musicians performing and an emphasis on sustainability. As part of the event, local residents display their own EVs (electric vehicles) and speak about their experiences. “It’s putting electric vehicles right out where people can see them,” Denzien says. “All different brands.”
With EV advocates like Denzien organizing local events, national support for Drive Electric Earth Day is offered from Plug In America, Sierra Club, and the Electric Auto Association. “In addition to being better for the environment, electric vehicles are more fun to drive, more convenient to fuel, and less expensive to operate than gasoline vehicles,” the Drive Electric Earth Day website states.
Drive Electric Earth Day events occur during April, with many of them Earth Day weekend, April 19-22. Some feature EV parades, ride-and-drives, EV tailgate parties, kids’ activities, and information booths. The Drive Electric Earth Day website offers a search tool to locate events in different regions. The website also includes other Drive Electric events, such as National Drive Electric Week, which is September 14-22, 2019.
EV Info
Some EV tidbits from Noah Barnes of Plug-In America, a nonprofit advocacy and education organization for electric vehicle drivers:
- More than 1 million EVs have been sold in the United States
- About 50 models of EVs are available, including all-electric and plug-in hybrids
- All-electric vehicles average about 58 to 310 miles on a single charge
Barnes says electric SUVs to be released include Kia Niro EV and Hyundai KONA Electric. “Many Americans prefer SUVs over cars, so we are excited that there will be more electric options for those drivers,” he says.
On the Road With Rick
Denzien and his wife, Debra Lee, own a Tesla and a Nissan Leaf. They drove the Tesla for a performing tour that traversed the nation — Philadelphia to Los Angeles. He reports saving more than $1,000 in gas on the trip. “[It’s a] cool car. It goes fast. And it doesn’t pollute,” Denzien says.
Denzien believes it’s important to make purchasing decisions that financially support sustainable initiatives.
“Every time you go to the pump and fill up, you just voted with your dollars. We can change the world just by changing our behaviors a little bit,” he says. “People can divert their money toward all sustainable methods of transportation. They have tremendous power to be able to change the future.”