Achieving Bipartisanship in a Polarized World: Eliminating the Ideological Divide with Rationalism

Abstract:

Despite the U.S. Congress being portrayed as vastly polarized in regards to environmental policy, more than any other time in history, the Ethical Environmental Policy Consortium and myself have developed a legislative concept that has achieved bipartisanship. We had been successfully collaborating with democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the past year and a half to amend H.R. 436, 2019-2020 (Fracking Disclosure and Safety Act), and realized that without considerable republican advocacy, any bill would fail in the Senate.

Due to the extensive polarization existing between major political parties, and the unanticipated support we received from republican legislators and staff for the same amendments for H.R. 5175, 2019-2020 (Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2019) that we presented to democratic legislators, we decided to develop a new bill (Methane Capture for Infant Safety and Energy Security Act of 2020). Since H.R. 436 only consists of democratic cosponsors, and H.R. 5175 only comprises republican supporters, constructing a new bill was the most advantageous approach. Allowing ourselves to operate outside of our comfort zone, we were surprisingly able to unite discordant ideologies with rationalism. Our legislative concept possesses the ability to become law, since it has been accepted by democratic and republican members of Congress.

One aspect of our legislative concept requires the implementation of quantitative methods (U.S. EPA Method 21, § 2.1) for CH4 leak detection, when any active HF well site is within 3km of a human population, to suppress injurious effects associated with infant mortality (low birth weight, premature birth, CHDs, childhood hematologic cancer), increase worker safety, and to capture fugitive CH4 leakage to provide enhanced energy and economic security.

Democratic and republican discourses considerably differ in fundamental beliefs, which generates an immense barrier for every single scientist to promote significant change, regardless of their scientific discipline or political affiliation. Both far-left and far-right politicians are guilty for creating this discouraging obstacle. Scientists must realize that there are legislators from opposing parties who are actually willing to work together, even though our national media tells us otherwise.