Mission

Capture the scale and scope of methane flaring in Texas during multiple overflight missions, starting at dawn to capture the blasts of fire and smoke.

Responsible for at least a quarter of today's global warming, methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and the primary component of natural gas. Producers in Texas waste large amounts of natural gas through flaring and venting, a process that threatens public health, the economy, and the climate.

Flaring is the burning of methane into our atmosphere during natural gas production, and venting comes from an unlit flare. These practices waste an important resource and what could be approximately $275 million in US profits annually. In 2019 alone, $128 million was lost in Texas to wasted gas.

Our overflights examined oil and gas wells; Texas has around 294,000 operational wells (as of 2019), many of which practice routine flaring and venting. Flaring and venting release Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPS) like benzene and toluene and ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as xylene and methane, which is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

Nearby communities face grossly disproportionate health impacts from this pollution, with higher rates of hospitalization, respiratory and neurological problems, and disproportionate negative effects of climate change, and are losing financially when a saleable product goes up in smoke.

EcoFlight's partners, Environmental Defense Fund and Commission Shift, are working to better regulations to cut methane waste and protect air quality, slow climate change, and lessen the waste of important resources.

 

Click for methane flaring photos from the 7/26 flights

or

aerial photos from methane flaring in the Permian Basin