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CPA Newsletter |
February 2026 |
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Included in this edition:
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Breaking News: Endangerment Finding Rescinded |
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Today, the Trump administration has repealed the EPA’s Endangerment Finding, abandoning decades of scientific evidence and one of the most important public-health protections in federal law. This decision places industry profits over the health and well-being of our patients and communities, and we will be left paying the cost. Weakening the EPA’s authority to address this pollution will lead to more illness, hospitalizations, and preventable deaths.
CPA's statement in response to the appeal has been issued in Climate Action Campaign's national press release, and can be read here. A short background on the historical 2009 Endangerment Finding can be found here. |
To My Climate-Concerned Health Colleagues, |
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Jane,
Preserving Democracy is a Climate Action. We cannot isolate what is happening on the streets of US cities from the climate crisis. In the words of Ben Passer, “to preserve our planet, we must also preserve our democracy” – the two are intricately interconnected. Leaders from the Sunrise Movement have put it succinctly: “There is no serious way to think about stopping the climate crisis under a fascist government. The path to climate lies through getting rid of the authoritarian government we’re in”. As our colleagues from the Climate Committee of The Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) describe, “Understanding the psychology of authoritarianism supports the mental clarity needed for resisting, fostering well-being, and imagining and building sustainable futures”. In Psychiatric News, Katherine Kennedy, MD, writes about the horrifying events in Minneapolis: “As physicians, we are now involved. Here are five ways you can help.”
One more urgent action to rein in ICE Call your Senators and Congressional Representatives to show your support for Senate and House efforts to not back funding of the Department of Homeland Security unless changes are made to reform ICE operations. Some of the demands are: require ICE agents wear body cameras; stop agents from wearing face masks that obscure identification; require judicial warrants to enter private property; bar agents from sensitive locations (like schools, houses of worship and polling places); and stop racial profiling.
But we in the US are not alone in our struggles. If you read my personal column in December, you know I traveled to Australia and extended our “climate family” to include climate-mental health activists “Down Under”. In an unusual period of international travel for me, I have just returned from a trip to Paris and Glasgow. Everywhere we went, folks in Europe and the UK expressed sympathy and horror for what we are experiencing, and welcomed us with compassion, caring, and support. Our allies abroad are bearing witness to the violence in US cities: Minneapolis is now a place many recognize and care about. Never did I wonder if conversations would be divisive, as I sometimes do at home; speaking about the demise of democracy, the rise of fascism, and overt racism opened conversations of solidarity.
My trip was planned around attending the Celtic Music Festival in Glasgow. At every performance I attended, the musicians addressed, sometimes as a side comment, other times more directly, the struggles we are facing now and the need to come together to resist the atrocities of current powers. Trump got most of the heat but he was not alone; there were many complaints about their own European/UK leaders.
–Robin Cooper, M.D., President |
Weather Weirding |
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This winter’s strange weather across the US is a vivid example of “weather weirding”. Snow and ice shut down parts of the South, the West is seeing unusually little snowfall, and the East is enduring bouts of extreme, extended cold. This type of climate “whiplash” isn’t random. It reflects a warming climate that is disrupting long-standing weather patterns and increasing the odds of extreme swings.
This weather volatility is expected to become more common, and preparing for it means strengthening infrastructure, updating emergency plans for a wider range of hazards, and ensuring communities—especially the most vulnerable—can respond to both heat and cold, drought and flooding. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains essential to mitigating the impacts of “weird” weather.
We at CPA are thinking of everyone negatively impacted by weather this winter and remain committed to pushing for the long-term changes needed to limit the future impacts on people and the planet. |
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Climate Champion of the Month! |
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Celebrating RAHN BAILEY, MD, election victory as President-elect for the American Psychiatric Association. Rahn has been a long-time member and supporter of Climate Psychiatry Alliance and climate mental health. He “gets it” through his direct lived experiences which he has shared on several presentations to APA community. He and his family are “survivors” of several climate disasters from Katrina to Houston.
Rahn’s leadership goes beyond climate to the many areas of concern in our fraying democracy. Not only is he a kind, decent, generous and caring friend and ally, he is leader in gun violence, equity and health disparities. |
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He has led the Global Mental Health Caucus with steady hands during these tumultuous times, where, at times, conversations about the conflict in the Middle East became strained. As the leader of African American physicians, he served as president of the National Medical Association. Many of us worked actively to support Rahn’s election campaign for APA President. Emails were flying off the charts with congratulations to Rahn personally, but also celebrating this as a victory for many of us who see Rahn’s leadership as charting a course of vigorous public leadership. |
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Events, Talks, Conferences, and Courses |
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CPA Early Career Network Monthly Meeting: Speaker's Circle DATE: February 17, 2026 5PM PT / 8PM ET JOIN HERE (no pre-registration required) Feb topic: An exploration on climate communication, where we'll be exploring the most recent guide from Potential Energy, "Five Simple Shifts for Climate Communications in 2026." All CPA members welcome! |
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CPA February Climate Cafe DATE: February 28, 2026 11AM - 12:30PM ET / 8AM - 9:30AM PT Climate cafes are safe, informal gatherings to openly share thoughts and feelings about environmental changes, the climate crisis and all emotions brought out by these changes. Facilitated by trained CPA members. ALL CPA members welcome. Registration requires ticket purchase. You will receive zoom link and calendar invite upon completion of registration. $10 members/$5 trainees and students. If fees are impediment to attendance, please contact Jaena Bloomquist, membership coordinator for waiver at membershipcoordinator@climatepsychiatry.org |
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Immersive Course in Climate-Aware Therapy: Level 1. DATES: March 15, 2026 at 6:30 PM ET / 3.30 PM PT and May 3, 2026 8:30 PM ET / 5.30 PM PT In a joint collaboration between CPA and Climate Psychology Alliance–North America, this online course for mental health clinicians focuses on the complex factors at the intersection of climate crisis and larger polycrisis, including ways to work with our own responses and with our clients in climate-aware therapy. 5.5 CEs will be offered. |
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Our Planet, Our Health: 2026 Convention DATE: February 28 – March 3, 2026 Join this convening of health professionals, researchers, community leaders, and policy experts tackling the impacts of climate change on health. Hosted by the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, in collaboration with CPA and many others, this event will take place both in-person in Arlington, Virginia, and online. |
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Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF) Climate Health Equity Day 2026 DATE: February 28, 2026 Designated Medical Student gathering preceding MSCCH/One Planet, One Health Conference. |
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The Psychology of Resilience: Seminar two – Motivation and Meaning DATE: March 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET 6-part series explores the psychological mechanisms of social resilience. |
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American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting DATE: May 16–20, 2026 Join the 2026 Annual APA meeting in San Francisco. In-person Early Registration Fees are open until January 28. See more here. |
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Good Reads |
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How To Think About the Future: It Is Called Futures Thinking, Part 2, by Elizabeth Haase, MD and Janet Lewis, MD, published in Psychiatric Times on January 23, 2026.
Let This Be Our Wake-Up Call, by Katherine Kennedy, MD, published in Psychiatric News on 3 February 2026.
What you won’t be able to read: The Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers, including massive cuts to their climate reporting and a far cry from their 2022 plan to expand climate journalism. There are still many good options for climate and clean energy journalism, such as the New York Times, the Guardian, Inside Climate News, Canary Media, and High Country News. Covering Climate Now is an organization that supports climate journalists. |
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Good Listening |
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Podcast: Finding Stability in Unstable Times: Fostering, Not Forcing Hope, Amidst Planetary Crises, Mind the Planet Host Vildan Soguktas (15 year old member of Climate Junction Gen Z) speaks with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, a climate-change chaplain and educator, about youth eco-anxiety, climate grief, and what it means to care for our inner lives. A project of Climate Junction. |
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Our Partners |
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American Lung Association Chesapeake Climate Action Network Children's Environmental Health Network Climate 911: Health People Healthy Planet Climate Action Campaign Climate Health Now Climate Mama Climate Mental Health Network Climate Psychology Alliance North America Climate Psychology Alliance - UK Eco-America Evangelic Environmental Health Families for a Livable Climate Gen Dread Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action |
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Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action Moms Clean Air Force Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate My Geen Doctor National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the US Health Sector Physicians for Social Responsibility Physicians for Social Responsibility San Francisco Bay Chapter Restore Our Earth Subject to Climate The Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health The Resilient Activist Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action |
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