by Throughout history, we have seen exterior beliefs separate from science affect scientists and their research. We have seen this in our history when some of the most controlling and powerful countries in the world differed in governments:
democracy and communism. Looking at our world today, there are different beliefs in science between the republican and democratic parties, which can majorly affect the way a country is run.
We have seen in our world a big divide between the two political parties: democrats and republicans. According to the Pew Research Center, “Overall, Democrats and liberals are more likely than Republicans and conservatives to say the Earth is warming, human activity is the cause of the change,” (Pew Research) Climate change is a serious problem in our world today. Although, there is scientific evidence showing that climate change is due to human activity. There are many sections of science that are debated between the different groups formed in America: climate change and energy, government funding, evolution, biomedical, food safety, animal research, and space. When looking through these different groups of science climate change and energy are the most affected by what political party you belong to compared to the others. Within climate change this includes the subtopics, “Earth is warming due to human activity, Stricter power plant emission limits, More offshore drilling, Increase use of fracking, Prioritize alternative energy development over oil, coal, and gas.” (Pew Research)
For example, let’s take a look at the candidate race we have today. When we look at the common debate of fracking, there are many differences between the candidate’s Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Fracking is a type of technology that makes it possible to extract oil and gas from shale rock. Fracking is under extreme debate because the waste from it has contaminated rivers and sources of freshwater damaging our environment. Fracking in general has been harmful to society being disruptive and destroying habitats. If Biden were to be elected he would call for a limited fracking ban on federal areas, whereas the Wall Street Journal reported saying, “President Trump, the Republican incumbent, rejects the concept of any ban and has championed himself as a protector of oil, gas and coal jobs. Mr. Trump challenges the science of climate change and has tried to support policies that boost the production of fossil fuels.” (WSJ).
From just this example alone, we are shown the extreme differences between schools of thought between the two parties. We have seen this not only in climate change but also in decisions made about Covid-19. Trump and the republican party have made many decisions through their term in office, which goes against the way the democratic party would handle a situation. A study done by the Pew Research Center found that far more Democrats than Republicans see COVID-19 as a major threat to the health of the U.S. public. Although, COVID-19 is a virus that has led to around 1.18 million deaths there are still differing opinions from both parties on the severity of the virus.
All in all, science and the world we live in today will continue to be affected by the beliefs of certain political groups. As time goes on we will be able to see the shift in thought, and the shift in beliefs within parties. With each presidency party, main beliefs generally stay the same but have slight variations to them. These slight variations are ones that over time we will be able to study and watch how politics affect science and the growth of science in the long run.
Bibliography
“Politics and Science: What Americans Think.” Pew Research Center Science & Society. Pew Research Center, August 21, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/07/01/americans-politics-and-science-issues/.
Puko, Timothy. “What Is Fracking? Where Biden and Trump Stand on This Campaign Issue.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, October 23, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-is-fracking-where-trump-and-biden-fall-on-this-campaign-issue-11602178755.
Tyson, Alec. “Republicans Remain Far Less Likely than Democrats to View COVID-19 as a Major Threat to Public Health.” Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, July 28, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/22/republicans-remain-far-less-likely-than-democrats-to-view-covid-19-as-a-major-threat-to-public-health/.