Yesterday I had the opportunity to go for a plane ride around the Odessa area with a member of GARDAP (Gardendale Accountability Project). The 45-minute flight opened my eyes to many new things – not least of which being the queasiness induced by rapidly circling small oil spills.

Yes, the most exciting moment came when we unexpectedly flew over an oil spill just south of Odessa. You can see in the picture how close it is to a landowner’s residence. For more images see GARDAP’s post.

On the flight I saw the proximity with which oil rigs can be put to homes in unincorporated townships in Texas, such as Gardendale. There are literally derricks in people’s backyards as close as 100 feet from their homes.

One of the most unsettling things I saw was a pit full of water to be used for fracking. West Texas is already suffering serious water shortages and these immense reservoirs of clean water go not to people or agriculture, but to freeing fossil fluids thousands of feet underground.

I leave you with an image of a well being drilled. The brown inner pit is the mud discharge that comes up from the earth. The outer moat that looks almost black is the drilling mix, which includes untold chemicals. Often this mixture is left on the owner’s property when the drilling is done. Only a liner separates it from mixing with the earth and groundwater that many residents use for drinking.