{"id":284,"date":"2026-07-15T10:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usabusinesschronicle.com\/?p=284"},"modified":"2026-07-15T10:07:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:07:51","slug":"brief-encounter-a-letter-from-a-19th-century-physician-to-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usabusinesschronicle.com\/?p=284","title":{"rendered":"Brief Encounter: A Letter from a 19th Century Physician to Donald Trump\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

To: President Donald J. Trump
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500\u00a0<\/p>\n

From: James Parkinson, M.D.
One York Place
Hoxton, London, England\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dear President Trump,\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1817, I published a short book, An Essay on the Shaking Palsy<\/em>, containing the first clear clinical description of the disease that would eventually bear my name. I hoped it would spur others to investigate this mysterious illness. My description of what I called a \u201ctedious and most distressing malady\u201d proved remarkably accurate and enduring. After my death, Jean-Martin Charcot, the French neurologist, popularized the name Parkinson\u2019s Disease. From my vantage point in the hereafter, I have watched with alarm as diagnoses of the \u201cshaking palsy\u201d have risen steadily\u2014and, in recent decades, precipitously.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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I am writing because your administration has embarked on a systematic effort to prolong and expand the burning of coal. Unlike the Operation Warp Speed in your first term, which sped the development of a vaccine to battle COVID-19, this is, decidedly, a step backward for public health. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In February, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed stricter limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants. In April, it proposed weakening federal rules governing the disposal of coal ash. Then, in June, the Department of Energy announced up to $350 million for projects to modernize, restart, and potentially construct coal-fired plants. You are repeating a mistake Great Britain made two centuries ago, when it embraced coal before comprehending the damage coal smoke could inflict on the first cases of \u201cthe shaking palsy.\u201d As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum, we observed its terrible medical consequences without understanding their causes. We no longer have that excuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your own government identifies power plants as the nation\u2019s largest source of airborne mercury emissions. Championing coal is therefore ill-advised: mercury is a potent neurotoxin with a particular capacity to damage the brain and nervous system. Researchers have found evidence connecting mercury exposure to Parkinson\u2019s disease, although its precise contribution remains under investigation. That uncertainty is an argument for caution\u2014not for allowing more mercury into the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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So, Mr. President, by promoting coal-fired power plants while loosening safeguards against their toxic emissions and waste, you are repeating a mistake we made 200 years ago. Britain learned this lesson during my own lifetime. As the Industrial Revolution accelerated, coal consumption rose from a few million tons annually to tens of millions. The air darkened, disease became increasingly visible, and physiciansstruggledtounderstandtheconsequences.We had the excuse of <\/strong>ignorance. <\/strong>Youdo not. <\/strong>What you call \u201cbeautiful coal\u201d has an ugly human cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, Mr. Trump, I have a proposal. Since you are fond of attaching your name to things, I would be happy to surrender mine. Call it Trump\u2019s Disease. I would rather be remembered as a geologist and a founding member of the Geological Society of London than for the neurological illness whose risks your policies so casually disregard. The name is all yours if you want it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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What James Parkinson, of the eponymous disease, might say to the president about his promoting infamously unhealthy coal power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,19,2],"tags":[115],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-newsletter","category-politics","tag-tagged-coal-department-of-energy-epa-parkinsons"],"yoast_head":"\nBrief Encounter: A Letter from a 19th Century Physician to Donald Trump\u00a0 - USA Business Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usabusinesschronicle.com\/?p=284\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brief Encounter: A Letter from a 19th Century Physician to Donald Trump\u00a0 - 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