Envision Frederick County publishes “guest” columns (or blog entries) here from a diverse range of people in our broader community, and covering a variety of subjects. While we invite or select the content, it does not necessarily reflect (or agree) with the position of the organization. If you would like to write a piece for our guest blog, please email kai.hagen@envisionfrederickcounty.org.
Rotary International Embraces Protecting The Environment - When you think about the word “Rotary”, images of folks in Rotary-emblazoned shirts picking up trash, helping to construct a handicap ramp for a neighbor in need, working with a […]
A Solar Convert: Having a Warm Winter With No Heating Bill - I am a warm weather person; sometimes even a hot-weather person. So, when I tell you my heating bills in the winter get pretty high because I like to be […]
Do a Superfund Site and a City Road Go Together? Learn Why Not - City of Frederick planners are proposing a four-lane, 50 mph road to run through Fort. Detrick’s Area B, the same Area B that is home to a Superfund in the […]
PRESS RELEASE: Envision Frederick County Announces New Executive Director - NEWS RELEASE (December 1, 2020) FREDERICK, MD — Envision Frederick County Founder and Executive Director Kai Hagen announced today he will be leaving his position in the organization to pursue […]
Think Before You Compost - Don’t get me wrong. I’m a MASSIVE compost advocate. But compost is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to the issue of food waste in our community and […]
What is Project Drawdown? Learn on November 21 at Our Virtual Workshop - Frederick County residents who want to learn about the strategies and hope Project Drawdown offers to reverse global warming and mitigate climate change are invited to attend a free virtual workshop […]
Best practices for ending exclusive single-family zoning - Your city or state just allowed—or is considering allowing—multiple units on every lot. Here are six tips for successful implementation of the Missing Middle. Last year was a groundbreaking one […]
Climate Change Working Group releases position paper on energy and Frederick County - After eight months of work and six drafts, it is my privilege to introduce Achieving Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050: A Position Paper on Energy and Climate Change […]
Coping with Covid: An online market opportunity to build local food resiliency - Circumstances created by the Covid-19 virus quickly revealed frustrating weaknesses in our supply chains. Those seen in fresh foods are a natural outcome of what is typical scarcity in our […]
#Climate Stewards Pledge - We must walk more gently on the Earth. Households in the United States emit an average of 21.5 metric tons of carbon per year – almost 5 times the global […]
How should the City of Frederick accessorize? - When it comes to accessory dwelling units, the City of Frederick is playing catch-up. Numerous jurisdictions around the country have eased restrictions on what were once known as granny flats, […]
Smart Growth Maryland Announces New Smarter Growth Alliance for Howard County - Smart Growth Maryland is proud to have partnered with the Howard County Sierra Club and The People’s Voice, LLC to create the Smarter Growth Alliance for Howard County, which brings […]
We Used to Just Call These “Houses” - We have a way in the modern world of rediscovering things that humans have always done but branding them as something trendy and a little alien. So it goes with […]
Malls to mixed-use centers and other opportunities - While hundreds of malls are declining, they are also being reused for all kinds of purposes—including walkable urban places in communities lacking in this kind of environment. The retail industry […]
Home Builders report shows housing is changing - The American housing industry is changing course—and this will transform neighborhoods and communities over time by providing more and different choices in housing. A new report from the National Association […]
Making normal neighborhoods legal again - I’ve spent over two-thirds of my life so far living in anarchic environments where the rule of law did not prevail. It’s a wonder I survived at all. You see, […]
A Duplex, a Triplex and a Fourplex can cut a block’s carbon impact 29% - The carbon savings from ‘middle housing’ are voluntary, self-financing and immense. So why are they illegal? To understand why housing policy is climate policy, consider two city blocks with 18 […]
We Used to Do This Everywhere - I just got back from a few days in New Orleans, where I stayed—as most tourists to that city do—in the French Quarter. The name is actually a misnomer from […]
Why cities are the world’s best hope for climate action - Cities offer breakthrough potential for immediate and effective action on the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and a hotter world, according to a new book, The Urban Fix. The Urban […]
Climate Change and Monarch Butterflies - The headline in the April 12, Washington Post article on weather rang out: “Giant storm in Central U.S. has unleashed all sorts of extreme weather, and it’s still dumping snow.” […]