Conservation Group Offers Aerial View of Environmental Damage

A conservation charity staffed by volunteer pilots seeks to alter the debate over major environmental issues by taking journalists, policy makers, and community leaders on flights over damaged sites in the southeastern United States, Bloomberg writes.

Pilots for SouthWings, who also donate their own aircraft, say the bird’s-eye views of oil in the Gulf of Mexico or West Virginia hills ravaged by coal mining give a true picture of the scale of environmental disasters that can help frame policy debates.

SouthWings officials say the group buys carbon offsets to make up for the fuel burned on its flights, and plans to expand the investment to cover emissions from its ground travel and office operations.