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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.

A portrait of Ferguson one year after Michael Brown’s death–in pictures

Sunday, August 9 marks the first anniversary of Michael Brown’s death. In this photo essay, get a glimpse of what the streets of Ferguson are like one year after the protests that sparked a national conversation about racism and police brutality. (via )

What’s changed in Ferguson’s justice system?

The Department of Justice reproached the Ferguson courts for ticket and fines systems that exploit those who are least able to pay. This investigative report revealed that a year later, not much has changed. (via )

The future of work

As the job market turns toward freelancing and contract positions, the need for a safety net that would uncouple benefits and salaried jobs is arising. But the transformation also allows for more flexibility and creativity. Some ask the question, is this the next industrial revolution? (via )

River of Tang

Three million gallons of waste water poured into the Animas River in Colorado. The spill, which gave the river a bright orange hue, was more than just a mess up on the part of the Environmental Protection Agency. It was a disaster waiting to happen. This article examines the the long-term impacts of mining, and how to help clean-up efforts and force mining to be responsible in the longer term. (via )

Can financiers save the planet?

Because running an investment fund involves a certain amount of insight into the future, the people who run them have often been forward-thinking on climate change. And as the planet heats up, money is beginning to move. According to this piece from The New Yorker, efforts to incorporate climate change into financial thinking have altered the definition of fiduciary duty to include “active stewardship of global average temperature.” (via )

Renewable energy- the cheaper alternative

As fossil fuels become a liability and the infrastructure for renewable energy grows, everyday people switching to an eco-friendly energy alternative might find renewables are actually cheaper than the carbon-heavy option. What does that mean for the prospect of nation-wide energy independence, once deemed impossible? (via )

DC cemetery gets a herd of goats

While the president of Zimbabwe has written an “anti-goat manifesto,” Washington, D.C., has found a way to put them to use. “We get our land cleared, we get it fertilized, and the goats attract thousands of people,”says John Williams in the NPR article. “A lot of families with kids are coming into the cemetery and often seeing a goat for the first time.” (via )

Can you teach doctors empathy using patients who can’t feel anymore?

By allowing medical students to learn about and celebrate the lives of the donated cadavers they dissect, medical schools hope to prevent students from becoming emotionally detached from the people they treat in the future. (via )

Want to be more manly? There’s a class for that

What is a good man? A real man? The new master’s degree program in “masculinities studies” at Stonybrook University explores the many ways this generation of men are men—from social work to literature to health. (via )