GMS Pics!

Road Rage

Road Rage is a violent behavior by the driver of an automobile, which usually causes accidents or incidents on roadways. Incidents of violent driving have been on the rise for years. These fatalities need to be reduced and people need to be more aware of the dangers of speeding and aggressive driving. It is a situation that needs to be taken seriously. Some Road Rage Tips are:
1. Don't retaliate!
2. Don't make eye contact with an angry driver.
3. Before you react to anything, ask yourself, "is it worth my life?"
4. Be polite and courteous, even when others are not.
5. Always ask, "could the other driver have possibly made a mistake?"
6. Slow down and relax!
7. Never underestimate other drivers' capacity for mayhem.
8. Reduce your driving stress by allowing enough time to get where you are going.
9. Give your driving your full attention!
10. Don't take your frustration out on other drivers!
11. Driving is not a contest--it is not about winning.
12. Realize you cannot control the drivers around you...you can only control the way you react.

Why Connect?

Community Connect was created to facilitate a feel good type atmosphere between people in their local areas. The blogspot provides information about the purpose of the project, a list of fun and informational community events in the Towson area, a list of future events and suggestions for events hosted by Community Connect in the Towson area, and Ideas for communities everywhere.

Wouldn't you like to know more people in your neighborhood?

Why not say hi to the cashier you see all the time in the grocery store?

Ever heard of Couch Surfing?

find out more!
www.discovercommunity.blogspot.com

One Less Car: The Benefits of Bike Commuting

10 reasons bikes are better than cars

1.Bicycling for an hour at a moderate pace burns approximately 500 calories.

2.A four mile round trip bike ride prevents approximately 15 pounds of auto pollutants from entering the atmosphere.

3.High gas prices, dependence on foreign oil, the depletion of a non-renewing natural resource.

4. No car payments, auto insurance, parking permits or tickets.

5.The average yearly cost of car ownership is over $7000, the average yearly bike cost is under $300 and can be less depending on how much of your own maintenance and repair you perform.

6.Bicycling is aerobioc/cardiovascular exercise which has been proven to reduce a
person’s risk of heart disease, some cancers, and their chance of becoming obese.

7.Bicycling reduces stress and symptoms of depression.

8.Economic vitality is increased in urban areas that promote bicycle and pedestrian
traffic over car traffic.

9.Bicycling is a great way to spend time with family and to meet your neighbors.

10.Bicyclists don’t have to sit in traffic.


Visit www.bikeforfreshair.blogspot.com for more ideas and resources regarding
bike commuting.

You Are What You Eat

•Genetically engineered foods have led to higher rates of toxicity, allergies, antibiotic resistance, pest control problems, cancer and a variety of other health and environmental issues.

•Approximately 45% of corn and up to 85% of soybeans in the US are genetically engineered, and an estimated 70 - 75% of processed foods in the US contain genetically modified organisms (GMOS)

•The US does not require labeling of genetically modified foods, so you don't know what you might be ingesting without your knowledge. DEMAND the labeling of GMOS.

•Genetic engineering threatens biodiversity as "pure" plants are contaminated by GMOS through pollination (genetic drift). Biodiversity functions so that if one crop is wiped out by disease, others may still flourish. The homogenization of the food supply through genetic engineering has led to the development of "super" pests, disease and resultant crop failure and famine.

•Corporations in the biotech industry are interested in profits over feeding people good, safe food. Companies such as Monsanto and Novartis continue to develop new ways to ensure that farmers must buy more and more products from them each year, stripping small farmers of economic self-sufficiency. "Terminator technology" - genetically encoding a seed to be sterile - is an example of this.


For more information and to learn ways to get involved in stopping the genetic engineering of our food supply visit these websites:

www.greenpeace.org
www.safe-food.org
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
www.organicconsumers.org
www.thecampaign.org
www.gefoodalert.org

Another great resource is anything written by the author Vandana Shiva. Specifically
Stolen Harvest, Biopiracy and Monocultures of the Mind.

This information is printed on reusable canvas grocery bags which will be given as
the "goody" bag for the first 25 participants at the GIVE it up. MAKE it up. SWAP it up. event on Saturday Dec. 8th 10am - 4pm at Towson University's Center for the Arts.

sexualegalitarianism

Equality for all is what United States of America is based on, but in 2007 all American don't have the same rights...

Could You Imagine?

Not being able to visit your spouse in the hospital?

Living with your spouse for 25 years, and then losing everything—house, children, and benefits?
Being told you can’t depend on your spouse’s socialsecurity benefits, despite a lifetime of commitment?

Can you imagine?

www.millionformarriage.orghttp://www.millionformarriage.org/

Is it hard to imagine?

It shouldn’t be – this is the reality for same-sexcouples all across America. It’s simply not fair,and it’s not American. Stand up for what’s right.

Sign the Million for Marriage Petition today.

http://www.millionformarriage.org/

Go Green ! ! !

Please Recycle It Saves Our World ! ! !

(Don’t Forget Upcycling)
www.recycletheworld.blogspot.com
Let’s help the world ! ! !

Do you love yourself, your friends, your family, the earth? Then do something
about it ! ! !

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OUR EARTH?
Did you know that every year American people throw away 208 million tons of municipal solid waste? That means that every day each person throws away an average of 4.3 pounds of garbage or trash! Where on earth does all of this garbage go? The answer is landfills.(http://www.units.muohio.edu/dragonfly/save/recycling.shtml)

Recycling makes a difference not only for us today,
but also for future generations. The fact about
natural resources is that not all natural resources are
renewable, meaning that when they are gone, they
are gone for good. Through recycling, we can make
the most of the natural resources we do have,
without depleting reserves. As people worldwide are
turning more and more to disposable packaging for
their products, there is more and more waste being
created. Some items, such as plastic, take many years
to biodegrade, if they do at all. Without recycling,
these products fill up our landfills, taking much
needed space and making it uninhabitable
(http://recycling-guide-to.com/topics/effects-of-not-recycling.html)

WHAT CAN WE DO FOR
OUR EARTH?

There are simple things we can do now to help save
our earth:

---Use reusable cups, instead of disposable
paper or plastic cups

--- Buy a filtered water pitcher, don’t buy
bottled water. The cost and amount of
fuel used to ship water to other
countries is massive. Numerous tests
have shown that tap water is the exact
same as bottled water.

--- Upcycle:

The word Upcycling was coined by William
McDonaugh and Michael Braugart in their book on
ecologically intelligent design, Cradle to Cradle. In the
simplest terms, upcycling is the practice of taking
something that is disposable and transforming it into
something of greater use and value.

http://www.etsy.com/contest.php

Recycle,
Reduce,
Reuse

Save the Polar Bears

Due to global warming caused by carbon dioxide, the polar ice caps are melting. This results in less and less artic ice every year. Artic ice which polar bears need to survive. Fortunatly, there are many things you can do that can make a major positive impact on Global Climate Change:
- Plant a Tree. Trees clean tons of carbon dioxide out of the air.
- Turn your thermostat down 2 degees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer. Heating and cooling takes nearly half the energy we put into our homes. This simple adjustment will save tons of energy.
- Walk or bike instead of drive. Or carpool.
- Buy energy efficient appliences.
- Fly less.
- Switch to compact fluorescent lightbulbs. These lightbulbs use 60% less energy than regular lightbulbs.
- Use less hot water.
- Buy locally grown foods as they take less energy to transport. Buy fresh foods because frozen foods take more energy to produce.
- Only run your dishwasher with a full load.
- Dry your clothes on a clothesline instead of in the drier. In six months you'll have saved 700 pounds of carbon.
For more simples ideas for saving energy and going green check out:
http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/whatyoucando/index.html
The Green Book:The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time, by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen. This book also has blubs about what celebrities are doing to save energy.
Green Design by Buzz Poole. Shows how individual designers and coporations are going green and talks about how legos can save the world.

Photos

The first 25 participants who arrive at the event will receive gift bags with products students have developed over the semester pertaining to a specific social issue. One of the issues explored in the class was the disease of addiction and the public's current perception of the disease. In order to attempt to find out people's thoughts on the disease, and to give information about the disease, two products were created. The first is a set of printed napkins which state myths about the disease. The napkins were distributed throughout a bar to test people's reactions to the information. The second is a sticker which lists the blogspot (www.addictiondisease.blogspot.com) where more information about addiction can be reached. Both these items will be included in the Give it Up. Make it Up. Swap it Up. gift bag.

Give it Up. Make it Up. Swap it Up. Event

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Center for the Arts Atrium

10 am - 4 pm

GIVE it up. MAKE it up, SWAP it up is a public event hosted by the participants of the 3D Design + Social Issues course premiering in the fall semester 2007 at Towson University. GIVE it up. MAKE it up. SWAP it up. will take place on Saturday, December 8, 2007 from 10am-4pm in the second floor atrium in the Center for the Fine Arts at Towson University. This event will showcase individual and group projects and the various social issues and coursework students explored and researched throughout the semester. This is a hands-on, interactive event for the community. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in various do-it-yourself activities such as low tech screen printing your own shirt and creating new clothing items with on site sewing while learning about upcycling, the disease of addiction, racism, road rage, community building, body image, genetically modified foods, recycling, fair trade and more. In addition we will be showing the Big Ideas for a Small Planet series produced by the Sundance Channel. People are welcome to bring unwanted clothing in good condition, especially shirts, for use in the GIVE it up. MAKE it up. SWAP it up. event. All unused clothing donations will be given to organizations such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, and local women's shelters. Children are welcome. Limited edition collections of seven social design products will be given to the first 25 attendees. Come and enjoy the fun!