Going Green Going Gay?

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Do you “personally care a great deal about the current state and future of the environment”? If so, you might be gay.

Seriously. A new Harris poll shows that only a third of heterosexual American adults think that statement “describes themselves completely or very well,” while 55 percent of gay Americans do (specifically referred to as LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender).

“As more Americans take steps to understand and protect the environment, there now appears to be widening gaps in attitudes between LGBT Americans and their heterosexual counterparts,” Harris says. “Just over 1 in 3 U.S. adults (36 percent) say they are concerned about the planet they are leaving behind for future generations, compared to more than 2 in 5 adults (43 percent) who said so in 2009.”

Harris doesn’t venture any guesses as to why this gap exists. But the explanation might be right under its nose.

Back in March 2009, Harris released a poll that claimed LGBT Americans were “more hopeful about the overall economy. One-fifth (21 percent) of LGBT adults believe the economy will start growing again within the next six months, compared with just 10 percent of heterosexual adults.”

So it’s very likely that Americans concerned about the economy will consider “going green” a luxury. And if more heterosexuals Americans are fretting about their finances than LGBT Americans, that could explain the “going green gay gap.”

Of course, going green can save you green, if you do it right. Check out Going Green While Saving Green: Some of Our Best Tips.

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