Really neat video by vsauce. Of particular interest to me: the look at the mass lead poisoning of society due to leaded gasoline. Why is that interesting? A lot of the nutjobs causing problems in Congress were likely at the susceptible age when the lead problem was at its peak. Is there a way to diagnose the effects of lead poisoning in adults?
It's funny/mean to suggest that these people have a developmental defect in intelligence and empathy due to lead poisoning, but I'm dead serious.
Supporting documentation on the chronic exposure to lead, with links to the research, can be found here. Of particular note:
Children with high dentine lead levels had lower reading scores, greater inattentiveness, and lower IQ than those with low levels.
That means that there is a way to tell how much lead these people were exposed to as children: the amount of lead that was incorporated into their teeth. Now, if only there was some way to correct the development of a sense of empathy in the people affected...
On the topic of heavy metal poisoning, I'm really looking forward to the end of burning coal for energy as solar (and hopefully others) become cheaper than coal. Coal is the primary source of mercury pollution that has everyone worried about eating seafood. The reduction in sulfur pollution, the cause of acid rain, should help, too. The sulfuric acid tends to liberate metals in the soil, especially aluminum, which is another form of metal pollution.
Edit: Fixed the link to supporting documentation.