2-celled zygote sues North American Coal

Chinese coal miner taking a bath (Reuters)

"Four big lessons arise from the frontiers of pediatric neurotoxicology. The first is that the developing brain is more vulnerable than the adult brain, and the timing of exposure can determine whether and how severe the damage might be. PCBs, for example, are linked to memory loss. Specifically, they interfere with recall ability and long-term memory, in part by disrupting the activity of thyroid hormones that, during development, direct neurons to their proper places within the brain. The first cells to arrive help direct the later ones. Thus, for PCBs, the earlier the chemically induced disruption, the more aberrant the final architecture in the memory centers of the brain.
     The second lesson is that neurotoxicants can act in concert with each other. Prenatal exposure to lead contributes to the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as does exposure to tobacco smoke. Both together, however, create a higher risk than either one alone. These findings indicate that neurotoxicants need to be regulated as a group rather than one by one. [...]
     In addition to these chemicals, exposure to air pollution also harms children’s cognitive development. Specifically, it reduces intelligence. Thus, the combustion of fossil fuels not only creates a climate problem, it also renders our children less able to solve it. Polycyclic aromatic hydro carbons (PAHs)—the sooty chemicals released from tailpipes and power plants—are the leading culprit.
     Coal extinguishes intelligence by a second route: through its release of mercury into the atmosphere, which then finds its way into the brain cells of children through the medium of fish. From the earth to the air to the water to the dinner table. And so into blood and neurons."
— Sandra Steingraber, Utne Reader
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"Less than two weeks after Mississippi voters overwhelmingly defeated a measure that would give two-celled zygotes the full rights of American citizens, Virginia Republicans are reviving the fight for 'personhood' legislation in their state.
     Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), one of the most outspoken legislators on abortion issues, filed a so-called personhood bill for the upcoming legislative session, which will begin in January. The bill provides that 'unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the commonwealth.' [...]"
— Marie Diamond, Think Progress
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"[...] in the US, manufacturing firms do not have to pay the costs associated with the pollution. Schapiro, who is also senior correspondent at the Centre for Investigative Reporting, tells me that the fact that environmental regulation is stricter in the European Union than in the US may derive from the US's lack of universal healthcare: 'The economic argument becomes more potent where government … will have to absorb healthcare costs.' Another difference, according to [Mark] Schapiro, [author of Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power], is that the European system fosters prevention (risk avoidance), the US-system favours litigation to obtain compensatory damages."
— Beth Wellington, Guardian
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