The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has suddenly and unceremoniously cancelled a conference on climate change and health.  The agency isn't saying why.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to hold the Summit in February 2017," CDC officials wrote in a terse statement.  The Climate and Health Summit had been in the works for months.

The new administration didn't ask or order that the meeting be canceled.  But the conference's co-sponsor, the American Public Health Association (APHA), was worried how the conference would be viewed by the White House.  Most of Donald Trump's cabinet picks are global warming skeptics or deniers, and Trump himself has spun the insane conspiracy theory that China came up with the concept of Global Warming to "trick" other nations into giving up their manufacturing sectors.

"They had no idea whether the new administration would be supportive," said the APHA's executive director Dr. Georges Benjamin.  He described the CDC decision as "a strategic retreat," intended to head off a possible last minute cancellation or other vengeful moves from Trump officials.  

The White House has not yet named a new director for the CDC.

Global health Professor Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington in Seattle was scheduled to speak at the conference.  Like Dr. Benjamin and many others, she finds reason to worry about the attitude of the Trump administration potentially impacting public health.

"In the long run, climate change is affecting the health of Americans," she said. "At some point, I hope they will go forward with the conference."