On November 5, 2025, our Ocean Program Director and Environmental Program Coordinator joined Environmental Data Scientist, Naomi Yoder and Pilot, Scott Humphries on a flyover of industrial complexes along the Galveston and Houston Ship Channels, Freeport, TX and additional areas of Brazoria and Harris Counties. Seeing the facilities from the sky and even smelling them from above was shocking. From that vantage point, the sheer scale of the operations became undeniable, the vast areas they occupy, their unsettling closeness to nearby communities, the countless flares burning, the towering landfills, and the dark, toxic coal ash being sprayed with water. Though we already knew what these facilities do, had witnessed them up close, and understood their impacts, seeing them from the air made it all the more shocking, and sad.
SouthWings connects partners with volunteer pilots to advocate for restoration and protection of ecosystems, and they provide partners with a unique perspective to better understand and solve pressing environmental issues.
Our Gulf team works to protect our communities against the pollution from industry in the Gulf south. We fight against new facilities, expanding facilities and ensure permits and public comments are followed according to regulatory agency requirements to protect the health of people and places. The Gulf team has participated in several bus tours of these industrial complexes along frontline and fenceline communities, but this is the first opportunity for an aerial view. We will use the aerial images to demonstrate how vast the complexes are and the close proximity to numerous communities.
Photo credit: Naomi Yoder and SouthWings November 5, 2025.
