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.

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PHOTOS: Hurricane Sandy Creeps Up on Brooklyn

—By James West

| Mon Oct. 29, 2012 1:50 PM PDT

In Red Hook, a neighborhood along New York Harbor featuring low-lying land and industrial piers, sandbags weren't enough to prevent flooding, not just of seawater but also curious tourists, locals and television vans. A storm surge of between 6 to 11 feet tonight and into Tuesday morning is expected for areas like Red Hook. Dr. Alan Blumberg, an oceanographer with the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, has been keeping tabs on the storm surge with 200 sensors around the New York harbor. "We've been making measurements for 80 years," he says. "This is the worst we've ever recorded."

Winds became increasingly strong across the afternoon, narrowing the window for locals of "Zone A" to evacuate safely from the area. Officials are making final, strenuous arguments for locals to heed evacuation warnings.

Bill Johnson and Yolanda Dlamo (not pictured) were taking a break from preparing their Park Slope home ahead of Hurricane Sandy. "We're at the bottom of the street," said Johnson, "so if this floods we’re concerned about how much water we’re going to get in our area." In the meantime, like a lot of New Yorkers, they were greeting the storm with caution and curiosity.

Ulf Agger, above, from Brooklyn Heights, felt safe in his apartment. "I’m not scared, but I'm concerned. I think mostly about people who live in the lower areas, and all the flooding that will come," he said. "It still looks pretty calm, but you can see the water is much higher than it usually is. But I expect it to be here where we stand in a few hours' time."

Carol Serrano (right) and Nayda Ortiz decided to stay in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood, despite mandatory evacuations, recalling what they thought were over-hyped precautions during last year's Hurricane Irene disaster.

"It’s beautiful and scary," Ortiz said, laughing with wonderment at the rising seas.

"This is exciting, this is cleansing," Serrano said. "I just don’t want to go anywhere this time. I want to be home. Home is cool: I have food; I have TV; if we don’t have lights, we have games."

"It’s scary, but I'm not scared, I think it’s more exciting than scary!" Ortiz said. "Isn't it fun? You guys are out here too!"

The couple came dressed for the occasion:

Additional reporting by Tim McDonnell.

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"That's All I Want—an Honest Debate": Voters React to Climate Silence

We caught up with five Climate Desk characters from videos past—and found them lamenting the candidates' inaction on global warming.

—By James West

| Thu Oct. 25, 2012 3:13 AM PDT

Traveling the country with Climate Desk this year, I've met a fascinating and diverse group of people affected by climate change in one way or another: drought-ravaged ranchers, wildfire survivors, algae farmers, and activists. As November 6th approaches, I thought it would be interesting to check back with this cast of Climate Desk characters and ask, "What do you think of the presidential campaign?" and "Are you disappointed by the campaigns' climate silence?" Climate Desk's Chris Mooney has done a great job analyzing why the C-word was never uttered during the presidential debate season. The edited extracts below show how voters who have been touched by climate change have reacted to that silence.

Martha Carlson: Maple Syrup Farmer and Scientist, New Hampshire

I first met Martha in December 2011, on her beautiful 60-acre "sugar bush" in Sandwich, New Hampshire. The 65-year-old maple farmer's trees were dying. The culprit: climate change.

Martha: After the stonewalling Congress gave him, I don't blame Obama for not mentioning climate change. He would have only reaped more abuse and resistance. But now, if he wins, I hope he will address climate change head on. I see businesses, small towns and cities and ordinary citizens all looking at the issue—even if it's not named—to get a better car, to build bigger culverts, to make heating costs more efficient. So we the people are already responding to climate change.

Andrew Greene: Algae Farmer, New Jersey

Entrepreneur Andrew Greene gave Climate Desk a tour of his futuristic New Jersey algae factory in March in response to President Obama's "all of the above" energy policy.

Andrew: I don't think we're going to get support from the Department of Energy, although I'd like to, or even the Department of Agriculture. There's just not a lot of money. And whether Obama wins or Romney wins, I don't think that's going to change. I think we have a better chance from Obama, if he wins, to put in for some research to look at what we're doing. And clearly if Romney is president, he's already talking coal and oil, the same old fossil fuels as before. And it will make it more difficult. But we are not counting on any outside support.

Hani Ahmad: Wildfire Survivor, Colorado

The Waldo Canyon Fire reduced Hani's family home of two decades to a hole in the ground. Eating away at his thoughts was the nagging idea that ignoring climate change is increasing the threat of similar fires in the West.

Hani: I'm disappointed with Obama. But I'm certainly going to vote for him. They mentioned a little bit about climate change at the convention, at least it's not a hoax! He mentioned even things like wildfires, and I thought that was somewhat encouraging. But I think he's playing it very close to the vest in terms of really making that an issue in this campaign, because there's so much money, so much resistance against even talking about it. That's all I want—an honest debate. And I think that's not really happening, and I think the election is actually pushing us away from it rather than towards it, because it's so risky for him to bring it up. Climate change will be dead in the water if Romney wins.

Beth Henry: Anti-Coal Campaigner, North Carolina

Climate Desk visited Maiden, North Carolina, for a close-up view of what will soon be one of the world's biggest data centers—owned by Apple and powered by the coal-heavy power behemoth Duke Energy. Beth Henry was one of our guides.

Beth: Like a lot of folks, I'm very disappointed that climate hasn't been talked about at all in the debates. Or even in the campaigns. I'm honestly convinced it's the most serious economic and national security issue we face and we're not even talking about it. No matter who wins, I'm just afraid the fossil fuel companies have so much money and power that we've just got to build a much bigger grass-roots movement in order to get the change that's needed. I do think the weather impacts of climate are becoming hard to deny. As we have more weather disasters that are fueled by climate change, I do think there a lot of good people in North Carolina, that when they are forced out of their denial will want to do the right thing for their children and their grandchildren. I just hope they wake up in time. I'd like to say I'm hopeful, but I'm certainly not optimistic, at all.

Farrell Seiler: New Hampshire Republicans for Climate, New Hampshire

Farrell is a Republican who believes that climate change is real, and a serious threat. I met him before the New Hampshire primary last year, as he convened a conference for like-minded Republican voters. This time, he says, he's voting for Obama.

Farrell: Climate change is not an issue that should be trumped by partisan affiliation, or denialism. I think that the Republicans are running the risk of losing a generation of people who are going to be affected by climate change, by simply ignoring it entirely. I listened to the debate on Tuesday night, and I was naturally disappointed that climate change was never even mentioned, when it could have been mentioned as a national security issue. One of the things that really irks me about Romney, is that he talks about job creation and the economy as central campaign issues. But let me go back 30 years: The birth of the modern wind farm was here in New Hampshire, and we have a very vibrant industry in wind energy in the United States, particularly in states like Iowa, Colorado, even Nevada. And for Mitt Romney to get out there and say he wants to end the Production Tax Credit for renewables and wind in particular, it's kind of silly.

See all of Climate Desk's videos on our YouTube page.

VIDEO: Former Hostage Shane Bauer Returns to Solitary

"There are no windows here:" Investigating America's prisons after years locked up in Iran.

—By James West and Shane Bauer

| Thu Oct. 18, 2012 12:37 AM PDT

Seven months after being freed from prison in Iran, Shane Bauer began investigating solitary confinement in America. This video documents his journey to California's Pelican Bay prison, his first time behind bars since being released.

Romney's Stake in Chinese Stocks

The GOP candidate invested in 10 Chinese companies recently—including ones that embezzled, partnered with Iran, and stole US trade secrets.

—By James West

| Tue Oct. 9, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

James West

On the campaign trail, Mitt Romney rips President Obama's policy on China and talks tough against the rising global power. "We're going to crack down on China," he said at a recent event in Ohio. "They've stolen our jobs; that's gotta stop." But according to Romney's recent tax returns, between 2008 and 2011 Romney invested more than a half million dollars in the stocks of 10 Chinese companies—including firms that embezzled, partnered with Iran, and stole US intellectual property.

Through Romney's individual and family "blind" trusts—managed by his personal lawyer, R. Bradford Malt—the Romneys traded more than 25,000 shares in Chinese firms, including some based in Hong Kong. Some of these investments have previously been reported in the media and raised by the Obama campaign, but others have gone unnoticed. Overall, the stock investments netted the Romneys a profit of more than $90,000 in 2010 and 2011. (Some of the individual investments were losers.) While that sum is a pittance in light of the candidate's vast personal wealth, it represents a significant amount for ordinary working Americans. Romney has long invested in China, putting millions into Chinese firms back when he ran Bain Capital, as MoJo's DC bureau chief David Corn first exposed in several reports this summer.

Romney has said that he has no role in managing his personal investments; one of his aides told the Financial Times recently that Malt works "to make the investments in the blind trust conform to Governor Romney’s positions, and whenever it comes to his attention that there is something inconsistent, he ends the investment." But back in 1994 Romney himself said that blind trusts don't absolve an investor of responsibility: "The blind trust is an age old ruse, if you will, which is to say, you can always tell the blind trust what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules."

Here are the investments in 10 Chinese companies revealed in tax returns for the W. Mitt Romney Blind Trust (2010 and 2011) and the Ann and Mitt Romney 1995 Family Trust (2010) and (2011):

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

"Gov. Romney believes China should be labeled a currency manipulator," his spokeswoman said recently, "and he will move to label them as such on Day One." Yet the candidate invested in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest bank. Some experts say that China's central bank still exerts power over ICBC (which was privatized in 2005) to carry out the country's monetary policy. The Romneys invested in more than $80,000 worth of shares, ending with a loss of just over $5,500.

China Merchants Holdings International

The Romneys invested more than $78,000 in this Hong Kong-listed company, China's largest public port operator. Its parent company, China Merchants Group, is one of the longest-running state-run corporations in China. They sold the shares at a loss of about $6,500.

China Life Insurance

About a fifth of Romney's China profits came from China Life Insurance, the mainland's largest life insurer. In 2009, according to news reports, China's National Audit Office found that the firm had embezzled nearly $172 million—overstating sales, improperly settling claims, and lining executives' pockets with millions of yuan. The following year, the Romneys made more than $20,000 when they sold their shares.

China National Offshore Oil Corporation

The Romneys invested nearly $77,000 in China National Offshore Oil Corporation from 2009 to 2011—even as US sanctions called for divestment of companies that do business with Iran's energy sector, as CNOOC does. The Chinese oil giant's parent company is helping Iran develop the North Pars natural gas field in a deal estimated to be worth $16 billion. The Romneys sold their shares in CNOOC for a profit of more than $15,000.

New Oriental Education and Technology

Campaigning in Virginia recently, Romney said of Chinese companies: "They steal our technology, they hack into our computers—they also steal our know-how, our patents." But the Romneys also invested in New Oriental, a company infamous for stealing copyrighted exam questions from a US firm. In 2001, New Oriental was sued by Educational Testing Service for stealing and distributing proprietary test questions for admission to US universities. A Chinese court ordered New Oriental to pay over $1 million, a sum reportedly reduced in 2004 by Beijing's High Court. The Romneys made more than $20,000 from the nearly $60,000 they invested in New Oriental shares.

[Read the full article]

VIDEO: What's Inside Your iPhone 5?

—By Tim McDonnell and James West

| Wed Oct. 3, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

The iPhone has become one of the developed world's most ubiquitous consumer products; the new iPhone 5 sold more than 5 million units in its first week. But the vast majority of iPhone users have no clue what goes into the guts of their coveted toy. That's no accident, since the phone's internal design and chemical content are closely guarded trade secrets and Apple deliberately makes it difficult for consumers to open up the device.

Enter Kyle Wiens, whose company, iFixit, aims to help users penetrate their gadgets' dark secrets, from how much toxic mercury they contain to how to change the damn battery. Last week, Climate Desk found shelter from a torrential rainstorm near one of New York City's Apple stores and watched Wiens go to work (see video above). Today, iFixit released the results of its chemical analysis of the iPhone 5 and a suite of other popular cellphones, conducted by the environmental nonprofit Ecology Center.

The good news: The iPhone 5 is far less toxic than the early models. The bad news: There's no such thing as a "green" phone.

First the good news: The iPhone 5 is leagues ahead of its more toxic predecessors—especially the original, 2G model. (The worst overall performers—most toxic first—were the iPhone 2G, Palm m125, Motorola MOTO W233 Renew, Nokia M95, BlackBerry Storm 9530, and Palm Treo 750.) The latest iPhone performed better on the toxins front than most rival models, including Samsung's Galaxy S III, and was only narrowly beaten out by the least-toxic phone examined, the Motorola Citrus.

Now the bad news: The iPhone 5 still tests high for mercury and chlorine, both of which can present serious health hazards if they leach into local water supplies from a dump somewhere—typically in a poor area of China, Ghana, or India. It also contained trace amounts of bromine, which has been linked to thyroid cancer and lung disease. "There's no such thing as a 'green' phone," Wiens points out. "There's no such thing as a phone that has no toxic chemicals."

iFixit.comStill, the new iPhone looks great compared with its original progenitor, which contained an astonishing 1,020 times more bromine and 97 times more mercury than the current model, according to iFixit. But the point of all of this is less about any one phone's chemical components, and more about the need to curb our addiction to throwing away phones that could be fixed rather than dumped. "It's critically important to consume as few phones as possible, to conserve the resources we have," Wiens says.

To see how iFixit helps make that happen, Mother Jones contributor Dashka Slater visited the company bat cave and came back with this great new profile.