How Climate Change Affects the LGBTQ+ Community

Articles/Websites

Grades9, 10, 11, 12Social Studies, English Language Arts

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by EARTHDAY.ORG

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What it is

In this article, the author explores intersectional oppression and activism in the interconnected environmental justice and LGBTQ+ rights movements.
LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately affected by climate change through pollution, rising sea levels, and food and housing insecurity but their voices are often not heard.
The author highlights environmentalism as an important part of the queer identity.

Teaching tips

Positives

The resource highlights positive leadership and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to environmentalism.

Additional Prerequisites

Students should be familiar with social justice terms including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, cisgender, marginalization, disenfranchisement, discrimination, stigma, and intersectional.

Differentiation

The quiz and factsheet links at the end of the article are an engaging way for students to learn more about climate-related topics and can be used to extend this lesson.
The article mentions contributions by Harvey Milk to both the gay rights and environmentalism movements of the 1970s. Students can explore other influential figures in these movements, both historically and present today.
Cross-curricular connections can be made with health classes, as the resource discusses the negative health impacts of climate change. Students can use this ebook or video to learn more.
Other related resources include this list of LGBTQ+ climate activists and this article about the disproportionate impact of climate disasters on LGBTQ people.

From the scientist review

The LGBTQ community is disproportionately at risk of the climate crisis. As a result, the environmental justice movement needs to be as inclusive as possible to address these inequities. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Social Studies, English Language Arts
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: EARTHDAY.ORG
Authors: EARTHDAY.ORG
Published: September 19, 2022
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D4.7.9-12 + 4 more

Core

Core Standards legacy

D4.7.9-12D4.7.9-12 Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.

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