WELCOME to the oldest and most influential environmental organization in Brazoria County, Texas.
Since 2008 Better Brazoria has been defending the health and safety of residents against the dangers created by the largest petrochemical complex in the entire Western hemisphere – The Dow Chemical compound of 34 giant chemical companies in Freeport.
The battles are endless. The fossil fuel giants are powerful. The need for help is critical.
Will you help us fight Goliath to clean up our polluted air and water, protect the health of residents, and give thousands of poor and struggling families a helping hand? Click here to help!
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” - Muhammed Ali
WHO WE ARE
Melanie Oldham with Dr. Robert
Bullard at the White House
Better Brazoria Clean Air & Water is a 17-year-old 501(c)3 nonprofit organization focused on environmental issues, primarily in southern Brazoria County next to the 7,000-acre Dow Chemical complex.
Our MISSION is to fight for clean air and water for all residents, improve public health, and seek a better quality of life, free from pollution and threats of chemical calamities. Our internationally-known Executive Director, Melanie Oldham, serves on environmental strategy councils in Europe and nationally.
FIGHTING TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT
Our staff and dedicated volunteers are working every day to protect our air, water and health. Here are some of our big ongoing projects:
Citizens Air Quality Monitoring Network:
There are only 2 distant air quality testing units monitoring the manufacture of thousands of toxic chemicals inside the Dow Chemical compound. We are working to create a large network of 61 monitors at schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and parks to test air quality daily.
Citizens Education and Mobilization Task Force:
Getting the word out about local environmental dangers is one of the most important things we do. We are building a well-trained Task Force of volunteers to inform the public through talks, public hearings, letter writing, lobbying, campaign work, online advocacy, among others. If we can change public opinion, we can change the laws to better protect us all.
Kids Environmental Education Summer Program:
We are repeating a successful 2024 pilot program to introduce school children to basic facts about the environment and what they can do to help protect it.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Despite overwhelming odds as we push back against the industry’s powerful lobbyists and their supportive elected officials, Better Brazoria has had a number of impressive accomplishments, thanks to the selfless volunteers who protected their families and neighbors from the polluters.
We stopped construction of the huge Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT) for five years and counting, including with a federal lawsuit. The project would ram two giant pipelines right through the middle of the popular resort at Surfside Beach, sending 2,000,000 barrels of oil a day to an Export Terminal in the Gulf, loading a supertanker a day with oil for Europe, not lowering our gas prices. As a Surfside councilmember said, “What could go wrong?” Residents do not want to find out. So we keep fighting.
For 5 years we stopped construction of the twin sister project to SPOT, called GulfLink, through the rural community of Jones Creek to load another supertanker for Europe. The federal government just approved construction. The danger to residents and the Gulf Coast is real, just like Deepwater Horizon was. We must make sure they obey all pollution rules.
We commissioned a 2023 study of the property tax breaks being given to 14 rich petrochemical companies by poor local communities for the promise of new jobs. The bamboozled village leaders gave away $2.2 BILLION in owed property taxes! That’s $1.9 million per job! We continue to publicize this outrage, and lobby municipalities to stop the giveaways.
We also mobilized to halt the reopening of Freeport LNG (liquid natural gas, or methane) after a horrific explosion in 2022 until they fixed all the safety measures needed to prevent another disaster. The explosion happened across the channel from Surfside Beach, where thousands of tourists were enjoying the day.
Along with other environmentalists, we convinced Chubb Insurance in New York to require higher safety standards of Freeport LNG ships and plants before issuing new policies.
PLEASE JOIN US
Help protect your family, friends and community!
Join our FIGHT for RIGHT!
We have monthly socials with interesting programs, weekly Zoom meetings, and fun events like Better Brazoria Bash in the park, as well as travel to New York, D.C., and New Orleans for environmental protest marches. We’d love to have you try us out. There’s no obligation and no cost to join! You even get a free t-shirt!
Just fill out this short form to get meeting notices and other updates!