ÎÞÂëÊÓƵ

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.

Don’t buy that

On Black Friday, a group of 80 artists replaced 600 ads throughout the city of Paris with posters calling out the destructive effects companies have had on the planet. The works are intended to point out the connections between consumerism and climate change, the artists said in a statement. (via )

What do private companies have to do with COP21?

184 nations sent representatives to Paris this week with individual plans to reduce carbon emissions. But private companies are also getting in on the conversation with initiatives and pledges to do better, as well as lobbying to stop progress. (via )

What we need from Paris

Is the answer to climate change as simple as counting calories: keep the concentration of CO2 to 350 parts per million and keep the temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius. Are these the same old goal posts we can expect from the Paris climate talks? Hopefully not. (via )

Is the internet ruining your productivity?

You know the answer already. The internet is addicting and while our first response might be denial, there are huge benefits to taking even just a week off from the over-stimulating web. (via )

Who’s reading your emails?

Congress is starting the process of updating a nearly 20-year-old internet privacy act. Under consideration is a bill that would require government agencies to obtain a warrant before searching through old emails. A similar initiative failed in 2013. (via )