Queers Hug Trees

Carbon footprint calculators have become a popular way of measuring an individual's impact on the climate. If you were in elementary school within the past two decades, carbon footprint calculators probably even made it into your curriculum. But did you know these calculators were actually invented by British Petroleum in the early 2000s? This week, we are diving into the discourse around individual climate action and how the fossil fuel industry has manufactured concepts like our 'carbo...

Today, we delve into organizing tactics in social movements, taking a look at the past and potential futures of climate activism. With input from two fellow climate activists, we ask questions like: What is direct action? When is it useful? How should the climate movement be shifting its focus and tactics to better address climate breakdown? While the mainstream climate movement has seen some progress with legal actions like climate strikes, we are exploring what is missing. Can climate justi...

Greenwashing, Rainbow-washing, RedwashingWhat do these terms mean? What do they have in common?This week, we delve into the similarities between greenwashing and rainbow-washing (pinkwashing) by corporations and governments. We ask what red-washing can tell us about the institutional logics driving greenwashing and rainbow-washing.Allegra shares info about the corporate co-optation of Pride and pinkwashing by the Israeli government. Amalie brings examples of greenwashing by oil and other comp...

Climate change exacerbates existing social issues, and homelessness in Canada is one of them. This week, we delve into the intersection between queer youth, housing vulnerability, and climate change. Allegra shares studies which show queer and trans youth are more likely to become homeless, but face more barriers to accessing shelter. Amalie brings to light the ways in which we can engage in direct actions to challenge these patterns of gender policing, which are not only threatening homeless...

Hello folks! We made this emergency episode in response to something really terrifying and really pressing; the trend of anti-trans and anti-queer legislation appearing in Canadian provinces. In particular...On January 31, 2024, the Premier of Alberta (Danielle Smith) posted a 7m28s video on social media entitled “preserving choice for children and youth.” In it, she proposed a sweeping, draconian suite of anti-trans policies for Alberta. The proposal includes restrictions spanning from ...

This episode, we ask, "is nature queer?" Queer ecology can help us reimagine environmental politics and open an understanding of queerness in nature. In this episode, we dive into the background of queer ecology, speaking to its history, its place in queer activism, and the research that has been done on queer animals around the world. We also engage in an important discussion on the human-nature binary society has built, and how queer ecology disrupts it. Amalie dives into multiple stu...

With this year's COP held in Dubai, we need to be having conversations about whose voices are actively excluded from climate spaces. In this episode, we begin the conversation in looking at trans activists' exclusion from COP28, and what this means for a broader politics of inclusion and the reinforcing of cisnormativity. Allegra brings in a case study of trans access to climate relief after Pakistan's floods, and what trans rights activists like Miss Major can teach the climate movemen...

Welcome to the QHT pod! This mini-episode introduces who we (Allegra and Amalie) are, why we're launching this podcast, and what it's all about.  Listen in to join us on a disruptive knowledge journey to create resources for queering conversations about climate, biodiversity, and other environmental issues. Our podcast is a collaborative exploration of the links between queerness and environmental justice. We’re asking what it means to be queer in the environmental justice movement, how we can address barriers to queer environmentalism, and what the environmental movement can learn from queer justice struggles. Welcome everyone 💚Email: queershugtrees@gmail.comInstagram: @qhtpod