James West

Climate Desk Producer

James West is a producer for the Climate Desk. He wrote Beijing Blur (Penguin 2008), an intimate yet far-reaching account of modernizing China’s underground youth scene. After completing a masters in journalism at New York University in 2007, James returned to Australia where he worked as the executive producer of the national affairs program Hack. He has produced a variety of Australian television and radio programs, including the debate show Insight on SBS TV.

Get my RSS | Follow @jameswest2010

Interactive: New York's Roofscape Gets Climate Makeover

Witness the evolution of NYC's billion-square-foot roofscape in the face of climate change.

—By James West and Tim McDonnell

| Thu Jun. 7, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Most visitors to New York City crane their necks for a view of the city's famous skyline, but locals know better: To get the best views, you have to go up. Here's your chance to take a rare—and vivid—journey atop a few of the city's billion square feet of rooftops.

As the Big Apple faces ever-hotter summers, officials are looking for ways to cool off in some of the only unused space left in a crowded city: rooftops.

Fertile vegetated "green" roofs absorb the sun's rays, while reflective "white" roofs bounce them back to space. Both are sprouting up in response to a 2008 city rule that requires new roofs to be climate friendly. Meanwhile, the city is working with the Obama administration to overhaul its hulking construction bureaucracy, making it easier for solar panel installers to turn rooftops into the city's fastest-growing energy provider.

Climate Desk strapped on hardhats, jumped into elevators, and scaled ladders to see firsthand how the roofscape of New York is adapting to face a changing climate.

Advertise on MotherJones.com

Brooklynites: Don't Frack Our Beer!

—By James West and Tim McDonnell

| Thu May. 17, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Does worrying about fracking make you thirst for a drink? Before you raise that pint of ale to your lips, consider the source.

The brewmeister of Brooklyn Brewery says toxic fracking chemicals like methanol, benzene, and ethylene glycol (found in anti-freeze) could contaminate his beer by leaking into New York's water supply. Unlike neighboring Pennsylvania, New York state has promised to ban high-volume fracking from the city's watershed. But environmentalists say the draft fracking regulations are weak and leave the largest unfiltered water supply in the United States—not to mention the beer that is made from it—vulnerable.

Have a story idea for Climate Desk? Drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook.

Can Real-Time Pricing Green the Grid?

To address climate change, don't forget the largest, carbon-spewing machine on earth: the US electric grid.

—By James West and Tim McDonnell

| Wed May. 9, 2012 12:01 AM PDT

Photo: James West

Unless you've been living off the grid, you've probably heard about President Obama's "all of the above" plan for America's energy future, which embraces everything from oil drilling and natural gas fracking to wind, solar, and even pond scum. In the last couple years the Obama administration has pumped billions into cutting-edge clean energy tech. But these all share a common problem: plugging into an electric grid that is mostly unchanged since the 1930s. Energy experts say meeting our carbon-footprint reduction goals will remain a pipe dream until we can revamp electricity distribution. The solution? The "smart grid," a nickname for a sweeping series of updates on everything from power stations to the meter in your home, which promises to save power and money by being sensitive to your energy use.

In the second installment of Climate Desk's Future Energy series, see how America is modernizing the largest machine on the planet.

Have a question about your energy future? Drop us a line.

Occupy May Day: Union Square Is "A Serious Mosh Pit" Right Now

—By James West

| Tue May. 1, 2012 2:17 PM PDT

As New York's weather turned into a classic spring afternoon, groups are converging on Union Square from all parts of the city ahead of a march to Wall Street at 5:30 PM. The park is packed with families, students and demonstrators in colorful costumes. Police helicopters buzz overhead, monitoring the crowd. Strong showing of pro-labor and immigrant support groups advocating immigrant rights and reform.

Occupy May Day: Pictures From Williamsburg Bridge

—By James West

| Tue May. 1, 2012 12:01 PM PDT

On a rainy May Day morning, at least 200 people marched from Brooklyn to Manhattan across the Williamsburg Bridge, and were met by around 100 police in varying degrees of riot uniform. The crowd was mostly local and largely peaceful. There were four arrests reported. Police confiscated a shopping cart filled with riots shields fashioned from traffic barriers. Nearly every MTA train that passed the protest honked loudly in support. Before continuing to follow the crowd, James West compiled this short photo essay.