It Gets Even Wetter: More from Queers for the Climate

Our last episode of “As The World Burns”: we heard from Patrick Robbins, one of the coordinators of the Queers for the Climate contingent of the People’s Climate March.

Today’s episode: Santiago Venegas Duque, one of the coordinators behind Our Fight Too, tells how folks have reacted to a LGBTQ-specific approach to climate action:

“I’m actually surprised that a lot of gays and queers I have told about the People’s Climate March have been really interested, and willing to go. It’s almost like, it’s a ‘cool thing’ to know about the march, or at least it’s my hope it can be seen that way.

However, my general sense is that people are willing to lend their time just as long as all the details are ‘figured out.’ Meaning, people don’t want to engage fully in activism but rather wait for me to tell them what they have to do. I think this plays in to a general lack of information about what issues are important in terms of environmentalism — not just for LGBTQ folks but everyone.

I am trying to figure out more ways to connect the dots between climate issues and how they affect LGBTQ communities because once that is clear we will be able to get more people involved. For example, HIV is a huge issue in our community and that is why it is in our faces everywhere we go. Every bar has a a dish with condoms and every dating/hooking up site has content about this.”

How are LGBTQ folks specially positioned to creatively consider global warming and develop strategies for addressing it? If you’re in NYC and interested in getting this question answered, plan on attending “A Queer Response to Climate Change” on September 19. The People’s Climate March goes down a couple days later on September 21.

The Climate Change Channel — stay tuned.

Photo Credit: Earl Dax