With 101 people still missing after the July 4 flash flood, the focus turns to local lakes, and what may be buried in them.

(Image credit: Martin Kaste)

After years of polluting by the water industry, a report planned for release in the coming days could lead to tightened regulation while also prompting an expensive modernization drive.

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In states without policies to drive renewable energy, power prices could surge as federal tax incentives for clean energy disappear, according to Energy Innovation, a think tank.

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Climate change is increasing the risk of dangerous floods. But people often balk at the cost of flood insurance, especially since many doubt they need protection.

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For this second installment of the Sea Camp series, we explore the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's the largest of five gigantic garbage patches in the sea. These patches hang out at the nexus of the world's ocean currents, changing shape with the waves. These areas were long thought to have been uninhabited, the plastics and fishing gear too harmful to marine life. But researchers have uncovered a whole ecosystem of life in this largest collection of trash. Today, with the help of marine biologist Fiona Chong, we meet the tiny marine life that calls this place home.

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Environmentalists are celebrating a rare win of keeping a mining operation from opening up next to a National Wildlife refuge in South Georgia.

All across the U.S., there are aging oil and natural gas wells no longer in use.

A lot of them don't have anyone on the hook to seal them up. Some estimate over a million such "orphan wells" still exist.

Because they haven't been plugged, they're still leaking greenhouse gases and other chemicals into the atmosphere and into the land around them.

What would it take to plug them — or even just one of them?

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

(Image credit: Chandan Khanna)

In the wake of the deadly flash floods in Texas, state leaders are exploring whether to install more flood warning sirens. Such sirens can save lives if they're part of a larger warning system.

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It's been nearly a week since devastating flooding tore through Kerr County, Texas killing more than a hundred people.

Now, after unimaginable tragedy, residents are coming together to help each other move forward.

NPR's Juana Summers and producers Erika Ryan and Tyler Bartlam visited the City West Church, which has transformed from a house of worship into a pop up food distribution site serving thousands of meals to the community and first responders.

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In an unprecedented move, India held the water treaty in abeyance after blaming Pakistan for a deadly attack in April. Pakistan denies involvement in the attack and accuses India of "weaponizing water."

(Image credit: Betsy Joles for NPR)

There was a circle in Maria Burns' yard where grass wouldn't grow and trees died. She knew what it was: An old natural gas well, plugged when she was a little girl, starting to leak again.

(Image credit: Maddie McGarvey for NPR)

Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent of people in the United States have it, according to the National Eczema Association — and its prevalence is increasing. Despite its ubiquity, a lot about this skin condition remains a mystery.
So today, Hannah's getting answers. In this encore episode, they sat down with Raj Fadadu, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Diego, to ask: What is eczema? What triggers it in the first place? And might climate change make it worse sometimes?

If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the science of itchiness. Also, follow us! That way you never miss another episode.

Interested in hearing more about climate change and human health? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear your feedback!

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(Image credit: Alexander Spatari)

New York, North Carolina, New Mexico and Texas have all suffered serious flooding this month. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.

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There could be about a million 'orphan' oil and gas wells across the U.S. As they age, they can leak greenhouse gases or unhealthy chemicals.

(Image credit: September Dawn Bottoms for NPR)

A warming climate doesn't just affect dry land — it affects the ocean, too. For years, Earth's ocean has acted as a heat sink for climate change: A large part of the heat generated by human use of fossil fuels is being absorbed by the ocean. And while the deep sea is largely unaffected by this heat absorption, oceanographers have discovered that the upper ocean currents are accelerating. That acceleration has the potential for huge knock-on effects, including sea level rise, changing fish migration cycles, shifting storm patterns, and more.

This is the first episode of Sea Camp, Short Wave's summer series exploring the intriguing and otherworldly depths of the ocean. Follow us every Monday through August as we travel from the sunlit zone to the sea floor.

Interested in more stories about the ocean? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

(Image credit: Teekay Merah)

About 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for drinking water. It also irrigates agricultural fields. It's also shrinking. Now, states might agree on a potential deal on sharing the river.

Under the Great Plains, there's an aquifer powering the region's agriculture system. But it's running out of water, prompting farmers in middle America to consider more environmentally friendly crops.

The National Climate Assessment is the most influential source of information about climate change in the United States.

(Image credit: Ethan Swope)

Under the Great Plains, there's an aquifer powering the region's agriculture system. But it's running out of water, prompting farmers in middle America to consider more environmentally friendly crops.

The Metals Company is applying for permission from the Trump administration to mine for nickel and cobalt beneath a remote patch of the Pacific Ocean. Other countries say the minerals aren't America's to mine.

(Image credit: Charly Triballeau)