Mercury poisoning hits another celeb:

Mercury poisoning has claimed another celebrity victim. This time it's Jeremy Piven, most recently famous for entourage. And the cause (again) is excessive consumption of fancy, sushi, seafood.

Jeremy Piven and the toxic sushi

And the thing is: it also happened to The Sure Thing, Spaceballs (I saw this again a few weeks ago: I'd forgotten that Bill Pullman played the parallel Luke Skywalker role of Lone Starr), and Melrose Place star (has been seen most recently on guilty pleasure One Tree Hill) Daphne Zuniga. For the same reason: excessive consumption of high-trophic-level seafood like tuna and swordfish.


One article I found mentions them both:

Speed the Exit: Jeremy Piven out of "Speed the Plow"

Daphne Zuniga interview for Oprah

I think that Piven and Zuniga should be recruited as celebrity spokespersons for the World Sealife Foundation "Eat More Turkey" campaign. As soon as I get both of those things rolling, of course.

And it should also be pointed out that the Bush administration released notably weak mercury emissions regulations:

1st Salon article on mercury

2nd Salon article on Mercury (quote below)

"But even if the suits are successful, it will take years for all these legal challenges to have any impact on the air -- years when the health of hundreds of thousands of American newborns will be put in danger. According to scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency, mercury pollution puts more than 600,000 American newborns at risk a year for permanent brain damage, which can lead to a lifetime of learning disabilities and developmental problems. "Mercury does not affect everyone equally," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "The E.P.A.'s job is to 'protect human health and the environment' but what it's really doing is putting more women and children at risk of mercury poisoning."

The Bush Administration has argued that mercury pollution is a global problem, and that cleaning up at the polluting sources at home won't have much impact on it. So, the administration has advised American women in their child-bearing years and parents of young children simply to avoid the most contaminated fish. Yet, the administration has simultaneously fought international regulations against mercury pollution, arguing in favor of voluntary actions on the part of industry."


Now, for all of those women and celebrity couples (hello, Jenny McCarthy) who have been endangering kids by causing needless worry about the traces of mercury used in important vaccines: THIS is where your concern should be. Fortunately, the winds of environmental change are blowing in Washington.