Nations have a duty to act on climate change under international law — and if they don't, they could be held liable. That's the ruling of the top United Nations court.

Tree disputes between neighbors are very common. So what happens when a tree is illegally removed from your property? What are the legal limits on cutting down trees? Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Israel Piedra, a civil litigation lawyer in New Hampshire.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Christie Todd Whitman, former EPA administrator, about the future of the agency under President Trump.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with mycologist Aishwarya Veerabahu about the rapid spread of golden oyster mushrooms across North America. It's the subject of a new study authored by Veerabahu.

Studies show the populations of most North American shorebirds are declining. But the American oystercatcher found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts is a success story.

For this week's Sea Camp, we're diving below the ocean's surface to explore the sunlight zone, the portion of ocean that's 0-200 meters deep. Here, we zoom in on some spineless inhabitants envied for their "superpowers." Marine biologist Drew Harvell tells us about stealthy sea slugs, sea stars with super strength and life-saving sponges.

Also, exciting news!! WE HAVE A NEWSLETTER! It lets you go even deeper with the marine research each week of Sea Camp. Sign up here!

Plus, check out the comic we commissioned to accompany this episode!

Want to hear more stories about underwater marvels? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org.

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(Image credit: Roberto Moiola/Sysaworld)

How do scientists monitor the populations of the threatened California red-legged frog? With careful listening and a little help from AI.

(Image credit: Bradford Hollingsworth)

China has nearly cornered the market in rare earth minerals, which are a necessary component to much of our technology today. But China sources some of those rare earths and other heavy metals from neighboring Myanmar. And the ramped up in production there is causing downstream environmental concerns in Thailand. We go to Thailand to understand the issue.

Bavarian palaces, imperial tombs in China and memorials to Khmer Rouge victims are among the sites being recognized by the United Nations agency.

(Image credit: Hellio & van Ingen/IBAP)

Abrahm Lustgarten says the undermining of science, and cuts to FEMA and NOAA, at a time when erratic weather is making disasters more common, should be "extraordinarily concerning" to us.

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.

(Image credit: Andy Soloman)

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.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan)

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.

(Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt)

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.

Also, exciting news!! WE HAVE A NEWSLETTER! It lets you go even deeper with the marine research each week of Sea Camp. Sign up here!

Interested in hearing more sea stories? Tell us by emailing 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: Oxford Scientific)

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.

(Image credit: Brandon Bell)

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)