A new U.N. report paints a grim picture of the world's freshwater supplies, particularly in developing nations.  The report, "Water in a Changing World," places blame on "surging population growth, climate change, reckless irrigation and chronic waste," and highlights the complex ties between freshwater supplies and other geopolitical issues like public health, political stability, poverty, and conflict. [Grist]

The three day Copenhagen climate science conference--formally the " International Scientific Congress Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions"--has wrapped up.  There were no shartage of panic-inducing reports presented.  Andy Revkin recaps the summit, and breaks down the conclusions drawn.  [Dot Earth]

Elizabeth Kolbert has used her New Yorker articles and an influential book, Field Notes From a Catastrophe, to help push climate change into a more dominant place in the American public consciousness.  Here she talks about what she's learned about the media, politics, and morality as they all relate to climate change. [Yale Environment 360]

Why is rooftop solar so much more popular in Europe than here in the U.S.?  Most point to better subsidies, but a key element is a wonky concept called the "feed-in tariff."  If you've never heard of it, it's time to learn--they might be coming to your state soon.  [New York Times]

British actor Pete Postlethwaite--who Steven Spielberg once called "the best actor in the world"-- talks about The Age of Stupid, "an environmental doomsday docudrama in which he stars," taking time to denounce climate change sceptics as a 'negative force' akin to Holocaust deniers.  [Guardian]