´óÏó´«Ã½

Welcome to The Crunch, our weekly roundup of stories from around the web; like reading the news while chomping on granola. Here’s what we’ve been chewing on lately.

 

Divestment isn’t as big as you think

On Tuesday, environmental activist group 350.org announced that the movement to divest from Big Coal, Oil, and Gas has resulted in $2.6 trillion in commitments by universities, local governments, individuals, and other institutions who have pledged to take their money out of fossil fuels. Too good to be true, right? Mother Jones contested the numbers, revealing how difficult it is to quantify the impact of divestment as a strategy to fight climate change. (via )

“Stereotypes”

“When most people see a 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound black man, they don’t expect him to also be a classically trained violinist.” On NPR, Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste talk about the stereotypes they face and how combining classical music and hip-hop makes the best of both worlds. (via )

Mo’ money, mo’ problems

Last year, 76 percent of the money in Brazil’s elections came from corporations. Protests erupted amid cries of corruption, and now the Supreme Court has banned corporate donations to future elections. (via )

Boosting trans employment

A province surrounding Buenos Aires is spearheading an effort to bring transgender people into the mainstream by requiring that one percent of the region’s civil servant jobs go to transgender workers. (via )

Crystal Geyser vs. Mount Shasta

Crystal Geyser is trying to tap more California water, and the locals, including the local Winnemem Wintu tribe, is trying to fight it. The city government of Mount Shasta, California, tried to slide the deal through without consulting the public; instead they spurred the community into action leading to an environmental impact report from the company. (via )

Climate denial runs deep at Exxon

An investigative report from Inside Climate News shows that despite Exxon’s 1982 chairman’s criticism of the science behind global warming, the company already had evidence to prove the climate was changing. (via )

Refugee to refugee

America once accepted 800,000 refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. In this Q and A, one of the refugees shares his perspective on the experience and compares it with the plight of Syrians in Europe. (via )

The case for non-linear happiness

Writer Rebecca Solnit reflects on why those who question her reproductive status also question her happiness—and why happiness has become the center of our attention anyway. (via )

All photos from Shutterstock.