LGBT People Like Saving Their Planet More Than Straight People

by Michael Jones · 2009-10-27 07:18:00 UTC
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Global WarmingIf Mother Nature had her way, the world might be run by LGBT people. That's because a new poll out shows that LGBT Americans think and act in more green-friendly ways than straight people. The statistics are even more stark when it comes to believing whether global warming is a significant threat to the planet, or that people should support environmental organizations and environmental causes with some money.

There's also a tinge or irony here that while anti-gay forces are busy trying to repeal marriage rights state-by-state or shift Anglicans into the Catholic Church, it's actually LGBT people on a whole that show more concern for the future generations of this world, at least when it comes to environmental sustainability.

The study, by Witeck-Combs and Harris Interactive, concludes that while on a whole everyone is doing more these days to protect the environment and save the planet, there's definitely a gap between LGBT people and straight people.

Here are a few of the statistical breakdowns.

  • A whopping 75 percent of LGBT people surveyed believe that global warming is happening right now, as opposed to just 53 percent of straight people surveyed;

  • Two-thirds (66 percent) of LGBT people say it's important to support environmental causes and organizations, compared to just 56 percent of heterosexuals;

  • Fifty percent of LGBT people are concerned that we're leaving the planet in horrible shape for future generations, whereas only 42 percent of straight people share this worry.

More LGBT people have also seen Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," than straight people. But that's probably not all that surprising, given Gore's heavy support among LGBT voters. More straight people probably watch Glenn Beck than gay people, too.

But the study is pretty telling. What makes LGBT people more attuned to the concerns of the planet? Is it that once someone experiences any form of persecution, they can relate to a planet that's being choked to death by emissions, pollution, and human consumption?

There might be some truth to that. But the point isn't to pit gays against straights on the environment. If this planet is going to be saved, it's going to take the collective work of everybody, regardless of sexual orientation. As Peter Tatchell, one of the leading UK gay rights activists, put it earlier this year, "Climate destruction is the single greatest threat to the survival of humanity. It is more dangerous than terrorism and war."

Those are important words to live by -- for both straight folks and LGBT peeps.

(Photo courtesy of cherrylynx's photostream on Flickr.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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