The Experts Speak
Section on Climate Changes
A Free Podcast Series
From The Florida Psychiatric Society
Hosted by Abbey Strauss, M.S.W., M.D.
American Psychiatric Association Warren Williams Assembly
Speaker’s 2019 Award
This is an educational project. Use the
information to ask questions.
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making any clinical changes.
Information may have changed since the
interview was recorded.
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Psychiatry continues to be genuinely concerned.
Everybody: Plant At Least Two Trees
Red asterisks
speak to climate change podcasts
Climate Change Does
Modify Mental Health
Use ‘real facts’ about
Climate Change
*Learn From The Past #2 - Nikola
Tesla’s 1937 Predictions From
the February 1937 Liberty Magazine interview, as told to George Viereck, the distinctive
inventor accurately predicts much of our current world, on war, the changing of
women’s roles, energy, environmental and social shifts, computers, the
internet, etc. He was incorrect on some items, but perhaps only as of yet. 11 Minutes.
Observant & thoughtworthy. Adapted from YouTube and Magellan
Streaming. October 2022. Listen
*Learn From The Past #1 - Our Water – Its
Role, Its Supply, And Our Needs - A 14 minute audio from the National Association of
Manufacturer’s 1950’s educational and advocacy piece of the then appreciations
and concerns with useable and sustainable water, including draughts and
floods, in our community lives and our
biosphere. Imagine what the producers would say now, over 65 years later.
October 2022. Listen
*Climate Change Questions
That Psychiatrists Need To Ask Both Themselves and
Their Patients - Psychiatrists Beth
Hasse and David Pollack pose such questions, including those about eco-anxiety
and when to - or not to - bring these issues into the treatment activity. Very
timely given the current worldwide heat waves. Much talk of how vital and
evolving diagnostic and treatment strategies are developing to proportion
treatments to all existent domains of life, which now include climate matters.
July 2022. Listen
* Working
With The Psychological And Social Realities Of Climate
Change. Gary Belkin, M.D.,
psychiatrist, and former Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Health Department, on
why he sees the present climate changes as so extraordinarily urgent and
critical, and how communities and individuals can, without rhetoric or panic,
implement essential changes using concepts such as the ‘social climate,’ etc.
Timely. October 2021. Listen
* Four
Short Stories - Why Mental Health Providers Worry About Climate Change. Four mental health
providers share their personal stories. They speak to the urgent need to plan
for and teach both community and mental health resilience as we face climate
changes. Done in collaboration with the Climate Psychiatry Alliance. September
2021. Listen
* Climate
Change Heat Is A Public Health Problem. Caroline Dumont, M.D.,
from Yale University, outlines the frequent and critical impacts of prolonged
hot weather and heat waves on our mental health, suicide rates, productivity,
problems with access to staying cool, medical issues, etc. A brief but very
timely synopsis to consider. Done conjointly with the Climate Psychiatry
Alliance. September 2021. Listen
* Nuclear
Weapons Are Still Here. Robert Gould, M.D.,
reminds us that these lethal devices remain as real
dangers to our ecosystems and our lives and communities. He speaks to the
history, the treaties, and what is being done and what is needed, to prevent
these real hazards and unthinkable damages with devices that still be here
after Covid-19. December 2020 Listen
* Better
Understand Mental Health Conditions – A New Concept. Lise Van Susteren, M.D.,
proposes that stresses produce an ‘Emotional Inflammation.’ She wrote a book
about it, in which she discusses this interesting concept, its origins and
manifestations, the impact of Covid-19 and climate changes, and then practical
ways to reduce it. September 2020 Listen
* Food
Insecurity, Covid, Climate Change, Poverty And Job
Loss: Will These Take Us Closer To A “2020 Vision” Level Of Discussion Of Our
World? Bashyam Iyengar, M.D., returns to
expand on the reality of these issues, with a focus on the growing incidence of
food insecurity, the types and origins of insecurity, interventions, etc., and
the interplays within the above items. This is further highlighted by the
current hurricane season overlapping the covid need for service reallocations
and therefore limits of support systems. August 2020 Listen
* What We
Can’t See Can Hurt Us – Probing Particulate Matter In “Our” Air. Philip Landrigan, M.D.,
from Boston College, explains the nature, origin, and health impact of
particulate matter in our air, that it can cause preterm births, cardiovascular
and other diseases, of the wholesome advances we had made to reduce it, but now
of worrisome new set-backs. August 2020 Listen
* Climate
Changes And Other Events That Can Increase
Homelessness. Bashyam Iyengar, M.D.,
practices family medicine with the homeless in Northeast Florida. He offers his observations about the not often
considered associations of climate change (e.g., storms, etc.) and
other similar events (e.g., Covid-19, etc.) that could also cause a fall into
homelessness, and how communities should understand, change, prepare, and
respond. June 2020. Listen
* Heat Waves, Pregnancy, and Psychiatry. Dolores Malaspina, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Mt Sinai Medical School, New York, on heat’s association to pre-term birth, to the combination of heat with use of psychiatric medications during and pregnancy, and also to the data suggesting later resultant psychiatric and medical problems, etc. June 2020. Listen
* Be “Bee” Savvy –Veterinarian Sid Lehr on the unyielding and
interwoven roles that we and bees play in our common ecosystems, that they are
food producing animals, of the pollination business, some history, killer bees,
farming and insecticide practices, antibiotic use, how to approach swarms that
temporarily bivouac, etc. February 2020 Listen
* Are Cell Phones Medically
Safe – Growing Concerns Anthony
Miller, a physician and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, is
part of the international EMF Scientist group’s petition to the UN and WHO to
further study growing concerns and a growing database suggesting medical ill
effects result from current extensive exposure to electromagnetic radiation,
including fertility, cancer, developmental, school Wi-Fi, and other issues. The
rise of the 5G cell phone system has unique concerns. This under-considered
public health concern is discussed by Dr. Miller. January 2020. Listen
* The 2018 IPCC Report on
Climate Change. In 2015, the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change asked the International Panel on Climate Change to, in 2018,
report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is that
report.
* Climate Crises And Templates for Preparation and Intervention - Learning From Post
Hurricane Puerto Rico. Carissa
Caban Aleman is a psychiatrist at the Florida International University. She talks
of her work in post hurricane Puerto Rico, gives us her hands-on experiences
and templates on preparation and interventions, emotional issues, community
activity, and also speaks to impending climate crises and changes that will
need this type of planning and coordinations.
December 2019 Listen
*Designing The Living Spaces in
the Space Station. Terrance
Glassman is an architect directly involved in this project. The discussions and
issues surrounding so many human needs that faced the project are fascinating
and illuminating. November 2019 Listen
* The Green Doctor’s Office. Todd Sach, M.D., discusses the
‘My Green Doctor’ program. Supported by many medical organizations, it brings a
critical sustainability education format for better health for patient and
staff. While it often saves money for medical offices, it more so shows how
medical offices are community role models. October 2019. Listen
* Urgent Public Health Concerns Regarding
Climate Change’s Effects on Mental and General Health. David Pollack, M.D., speaks to
timely issues that include the CAARE program, the critical need to further
train health care providers and others, of the climate change first responders,
the ‘once you know’ concept, his genuine belief that
much can be done to prepare for the changes, etc. October 2019 Listen
* Climate Change Induced Anxiety. Janet Lewis, M.D., speaks to what
is also being called ‘eco-anxiety’, about the emerging fears and anxieties
stemming from climate changes, when people are overwhelmed by the rush of
complex political and scientific declarations, of the need to discuss strategies
to help adults and children deal with what they read and hear, the role of hope
and advocacy, and so on. September 2019 Listen
* Air Pollution: The Impact on Mental
Health. Elizabeth Haase, M.D., defines
air pollution and that the WHO ranks it as an under discussed major crisis. The
inhaled particles cause various psychiatric and medical diseases in our bodies.
She also speaks to the importance of, and how to discuss air pollution, even
with children. August 2019 Listen
* Psychiatric Concerns: Heat Waves And Behavior. Robin Cooper, MD., describes
growing research and concerns that heat waves do indeed alter behavior,
including increased suicide and other violence, productivity, medical concerns
and the need for proper hydration and cooling, education, interventions, etc.
August 2019 Listen
* Health And Social Impact
Realities Of Nuclear Accidents and Weapons. Peter Wilk, M.D., a psychiatrist, gives a
history and updates on the known public health hazards of nuclear accidents and
weapons. He believes the weapons provide more psychological insecurity than
security, and he provides approaches and links to reduce the ruinous and
unapologetic biosocial blows of both nuclear weapon use and when unintended
problems occur with other nuclear devices.
May 2019 Listen
* Fewer Bees And The Food
Chain -- Maureen
McCue, M.D., from Iowa, explains these concerns, and how by prioritizing our
needs for food and a lifestyle, and of land devoted to economics rather than
nutrient values, we have jeopardized the balance and sustainability of the food
chain. This is considered an epic and impending danger, and as a possible
extinction event, to our public health and survivability. May 2019 Listen
* Climate Changes: How They
Impact Mental Health – Susan
Clayton, Ph.D., from the University of Wooster, discusses the known and
anticipated impacts that climate changes have on our mental health. She
suggests ways to prepare without panic, and to some of the emotional obstacles
seen as people prepare for the gamut of lifestyle and community changes that
are of real concern. April 2019 Listen
* Heat and The Melting Ice – History, Impacts and What To Do About It -- Alan
Lockwood, M.D., addresses the history of, and current pressing scientific
concerns, regarding global warming. Included are the growing political, social,
physical and psychological (i.e., stress and
insecurity) impacts of major changes in fresh water supplies, methane releases,
heat, etc. February 2019 Listen
* Our Health Changes With Climate Changes – Lynn
Ringenberg, M.D., Professor Emeritus at the University of South Florida,
expresses her crisis but not panic level of concerns regarding how climate
warming and other changes impact our physical and emotional health. February
2019 Listen
*The Critical Psychology Of Living Spaces – Architect
Terrence Glassman on our connections to our living spaces, a bit of a history
overview, the emotional and functional aspects of a healthy environment and
sense of a safe community, his shift from knowing how to design to learning
what to design, etc. November 2017 Listen
* Mental Health After Disasters – Orlando, et. al. -- Robert Ursano, M.D., Chair of Disaster Psychiatry for the American
Psychiatric Association, carefully explains typical post event reactions, the
better style of interventions, details acute from chronic reactions, etc. June
2016 Listen
* As The Sea Level Rises – Roderick King, M.D., from the Florida Institute
of Health Innovation and an Associate Professor, Dept. of Public Health Sciences,
University of Miami School of Medicine, steadily details the challenges, and
how the world must coordinate efforts to offset and adapt to changes in
society, the geography of some of our communities, medical issues, weather
changes, etc., in response to global climate change. January 2016. Listen
* Sustainability Challenges – Cultural, Economic, and
Environmental – Natalie Schneider, Climate Change and
Sustainability Coordinator for Palm Beach County (Florida), outlines the
necessary concepts and challenges to maintain sustainability, how to grow in a
manner that allows future generations to have available resources, how people
adapt to these demands, etc. October 2015
Listen
* Pesticides and Our Health – Jeannie Economos explains the serious health concerns regarding pesticide exposure, including effects on human development, fertility, and disease, the need for medical attention to occupational exposure, endocrine disruption, informational links, and the Lake Apopka story. (Co-posted with Palm Beach County Medical Society) August 2015 Listen
*Safe Disposal Of Unused Medication.
Disposed
medications are found in fresh water plants and
animals. SMARxTDISPOSAL is a program from the US Fish
and Wildlife Services, the American Pharmacists Association
and similar groups. Greg Masson, Ph.D. Chief, Branch of Environmental Contaminats, US Fish and Wildlife Service. Feb 2010. Listen
*The fetal development in the polluted environment. Susan
Buchanan, MD, MPH, describes the prenatal development
concerns with lead and mercury exposure. She outlines precautions, fish
consumption in pregnancy, pesticides, and the impact of endocrine disruptors on
current living systems and across generations. She is an assistant professor of
occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois. March 2012.
Listen
*The health effects of radiation: issues appearing after
Fukushima. Jimmy Hara, MD, from UCLA, discusses how
radiation spreads, the nature of radiation, how it affects our health, etc.
March 2010. Listen
*Oil Spill -- the concepts of
community collective grief. Dan
Randle, Ed.D., explains how such a disaster impacts the mental health of a
community. June 2010. Listen
*Oil spill – there known and unknown
health effects. Gina Solomon, MD, speaks to the known health
effects of exposure to crude oil, such as that following the April 2010 the in
the Gulf of Mexico. She discusses her worries and concerns about the legacy of
the exposure on human and wildlife. Dr. Solomon is a
scientist with the National resources Defense Council and is on staff at the
University of California – San Francisco, Department of occupational and
environmental health. May 2010. Listen
*Oil spill – known and unknown environmental effects. Leonard
Berry, PhD, director of the Florida Center for environmental studies at Florida
Atlantic University, speaks to the effects on the food chain, marine life,
plants, dispersants, how hurricanes might blow the oil, etc. May 2010. Listen
*Mental health needs in post-earthquake Haiti. Psychiatrist Serge Thys speaks to the impact and
mental health needs of people in his homeland after the recent earthquake. He
discusses the nature of their community cohesiveness, culture, and the changes
following the extraordinary trauma that befell them. April 2010. Listen
Important
Note: All
treatment decisions must result from a doctor-patient process. Opinions expressed
herein are not necessarily those of the host or either the Florida Psychiatric Society New
information may develop since the time the interview occurred; consult your physician
before any clinical decision is made. Find us also on iTunes. Comments or questions go to astrauss@katenagroup.org Unrestricted production underwriting is
generously provided by The Wellington Retreat, Florida, and the Palm Beach
County Psychiatric Society.
And again, thanks for listening.