Howard County Legacy Leadership Institute for the Environment

Environmental Learning and Stewardship in Howard County, MD

HoLLIE Events for 2025!

Jan 16, 2025 Webinar

Please join us for a HoLLIE-sponsored webinar on the impacts and future of electrification, January 16 at 7pm!

HoLLIE is supporting efforts to update Howard County building codes to reduce greenhouse emissions. However, even if you don’t live in Howard County, this webinar includes information about fossil fuel impacts on health, methane emissions, financial benefits and the future of electrification everywhere.

Webinar Description: Electrification of New Buildings in Howard County

A webinar presented by Electrify HoCO and Electrify our Future - January 16th 2025 at 7:00 PM

Howard County has an opportunity to make significant progress implementing the Howard County Climate Action Plan. By 2030, the County strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. Buildings contribute 11% of the greenhouse gases from onsite fossil fuel combustion in Howard County. Maryland state law requires the updating of building codes every three years, which presents the County the opportunity to significantly reduce the greenhouse emissions in new buildings and significant modifications to existing buildings.

Electrify HoCo and Electrify Our Future are urging the County to enact new building codes that require new buildings and substantial renovations in the county to use electric appliances for heat, hot water and other domestic uses.

We are presenting a webinar which will explore the issues around the combustion of fossil fuel in buildings to include health, safety and financial benefits of electrification and the impact on climate change.

Electrify HoCo is a coalition of Howard County environmental and climate organizations and Electrify Our Future is an organization of Howard County students.

May 8, 2025

All-day symposium at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center !

New Climate Data from NASA’s Scientists
plus

Insiders’ Tour of Selected Operations/Labs at Goddard

Details and Registration Information to come later.

November 4, 2023
Climate Change
Solutions
Symposium

Climate Change Solutions Symposium
Nov 4, 2023

Owen Brown Interfaith Center
Columbia MD

1/15

Thank you to everyone who attended our 2023 Climate Symposium

“Climate Change: Imagine What We Can Do Together!”

Special thanks to our co-sponsor hosts,

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia Climate Change Task Force

The symposium was not recorded, but the speakers have provided links to some of the presentations below.

Speakers 2023 Climate Symposium

Timothy Lattimer

Administrator of the HoCo Office of Community Sustainability

Formerly Senior Advisor, Office of Global Change, U.S. Dept of State

As a former climate diplomat and current Administrator of Howard County’s Office of Community Sustainability, Tim Lattimer will describe the Howard County government’s “whole of government” approach to implementing its new “Climate Forward” action plan. He will also discuss how we can bring “all hands on deck” to build a “whole of community” effort that ensures Howard County’s long-term leadership in tackling the climate crisis.

Presentations:

Action Plan - https://climateforward.howardcountymd.gov/action-plan

Dashboard - https://climateforward.howardcountymd.gov/dashboard

Mike Raupp, Ph. D.

Emeritus Professor of Entomology, University of Maryland

Fellow of the Entomological Society of America

What a warming world means for plants, pests, and beneficial insects

We will review evidence for climate change, mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, and what it means for changing weather patterns around the globe. We will see how warmer temperatures alter the status of native and non-native insects in our region. Learn how warmer temperatures affect arthropod abundance, distributions, seasonal phenology and interactions among plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies.

Mike Raupp's "Bug of the week" website:
https://bugoftheweek.com/thebugguy

This youtube link lets you subscribe so it appears when written in your email: https://www.youtube.com/user/bugoftheweek

Mike's UMD site, with papers, talks, & credentials:
tials: https://entomology.umd.edu/raupp-michael-j.html

Wanda Prather, M.S.

HoLLIE Coordinator, Retired IT Specialist, Democracy Activist

Becoming an Advocate for Climate Policy

We can no longer ignore the connection between legislation and the fight against climate change. Whether we like it are not, climate activists have to be aware of politics and become active advocates.

Learn how to become a Climate Policy Advocate without taking a lot of time or making yourself crazy!

To download presentation click here.

What's your Environmental Passion ???

Whether you have a lifetime, a day, or an hour, there is something you can do to help!

Hover or tap on the circles to find what interests you most, then click Go! to see a list of related local organizations and web resources.

You can start small and still help a lot!

How to get started:

Explore the circles
Click Go! to see a list of web resources and related environmental organizations in and around Howard County
Visit their website
Join their email list and stay informed
Attend a meeting in person or online if you can
Volunteers are needed for everything from office work and making phone calls to event staffing, research, outdoor work, and nature walks. There are often opportunities to help from home.