[SouthWings] Best Practices in Aerial Observation of Oil Spills in Open Water

April 7, 2015
In the five years since BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in April of 2010 -- killing 11 people and leading to an uncontrolled 87-day oil gusher that covered vast areas of the Gulf of Mexico in oil -- SouthWings and our partners in the Gulf Monitoring Consortium have learned much about effective citizen reporting of pollution, especially related to oil spills in water. Thanks to the work of SkyTruth, we have also…

Aerial Photos Document Wetland Damage from Oil and Gas Activity

April 8, 2014
Taken on a SouthWings flight over the Mississippi River Delta with Gulf Restoration Network, these photos by Jonathan Henderson link visible wetlands damage to specific permits that oil and gas companies obtained for drilling at these sites in coastal Louisiana. Annotated aerial photo set available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/healthygulf/sets/72157643594038754/ The straight lines in this photo (right) are examples of the canals that oil and gas companies dredge through wetlands to access well sites. These artificial…

Oil and Gas Leaks in the Gulf – Business as Usual

October 3, 2013
On September 30, 2013 the Gulf Monitoring Consortium conducted a monitoring flight of south-east Louisiana and found what it always finds; oil and gas operations spilling oil and other pollutants into the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana coastal wetlands. Here are some highlights, or perhaps, "lowlights" from the flight: The slick from the still leaking Taylor wells off of the Mississippi River delta stretched into the distance as usual and reminded the passengers…