Rainbow Over Valley View (Special to the Bay Times). PHOTO BY: PHIL HAWKINS PHOTOGRAPHY-philhawkinsphoto.com

By Dana Rudolph

Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a blog and resource directory for LGBT parents.

It’s hard to think of LGBT-specific ways to be green. One could make sure the rainbow flag hanging in one’s yard is made from Earth-friendly fibers.

One could work with local Pride Parade organizers to place recycling bins along the parade route. Most of us, too, know someone fitting the stereotype of the “crunchy granola” lesbian who eats only organic food from her local co-op and makes her own furniture from recycled lumber.
I therefore find myself compelled this Earth Day to come up with a list of ways the environment would benefit if LGBT people had equal rights:

 If everyone could marry in their home states and not have to drive to where they can legally wed, they could save on fuel.

 The same goes for people flying, driving, and busing to yet another March on Washington.

 With many same-sex couples rushing to marry, what better gift than a backyard compost bin or his and his reusable shopping bags?

We would save trees if LGBT people didn’t need to carry extra copies of our families’ birth certificates, adoption papers, powers of attorney, etc., whenever we traveled.

Melissa Etheridge could stop spending time on LGBT rights and work full time with Al Gore when she wasn’t on tour.

If no one could be fired for being gay or transgender (as they can be in 29 and 34 states, respectively), more people could afford to shop in pricey organic supermarkets.

If the LGBT community could stop worrying about the LGBT friendliness of political candidates, we could start worrying about their environmental friendliness. (Some people can do both — but let’s face it, it’s hard to keep up.)

The millions spent on anti-LGBT ballot initiatives ($73 million for California’s Prop 8, for example) could go towards protecting the environment, or any number of other causes.

Equalize estate taxes for LGBT people and we could leave more to our favorite environmental charities.

If ultra-right commentators stopped giving off so much hot air about LGBT issues, they would alleviate global warming.

No, that list is not to be taken seriously. There may not be a gay way to save the environment, or an environmentally friendly way to be gay (at least until those Lesbaru — ahem, Subaru — hybrids come out), but in the end, it’s everyone’s world, LGBT and not. It’s up to all of us to save it.

Originally published on Change.org.