Conservation, satirist groups launches parody billboards ahead of Balloon Fiesta

With a successful Mass Ascension on Sunday, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is underway.

But a conservation group and a group of parody purveyors are hoping to draw some eyes with a series of satirical billboards and stunts to push back on the recent efforts to expand the uses of oil and gas water off of New Mexico’s oilfields.

WildEarth Guardians and The Yes Men — artist-activists known for impersonating and parodying companies and organizations — launched billboards and a website for parody company ExxtremeEnergy to coincide with ExxonMobil’s title sponsorship of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which runs through Oct. 12.

The parody company, Exxtreme Energy, also submitted a petition to join the Water, Access, Treatment and Reuse (WATR) Alliance — the industry group pushing the recent rulemaking to use oil and gas wastewater, despite objections from environmental groups that argue the treatment remains unproven.

The sponsorship for the hot air balloon festival is an effort to “distract” the public from ExxonMobil’s contribution to climate change and pollution record, Rebecca Sobel, the campaign manager for WildEarth Guardians, told Source NM.

“An oil and gas corporate sponsorship of a beloved culture event is not something that New Mexicans should stand for,” Sobel said. “An Exxon-specific sponsorship of balloon fiesta is a big distraction in the air from the mess they and their similar companies have left on the ground.”

A request for comment from ExxonMobil media relations was not immediately returned.

WildEarth Guardians, which has been tracking spills from the oil and gas in New Mexico, pointed to data that a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, XTO, had 42 spills of waste over the spring.

Sobel said New Mexicans and visitors should expect to hear spoof radio ads near Balloon Fiesta Park, and see several stunts over the coming week.

“Balloon fiesta is a cultural treasure,” Sobel said. “We love balloons, but Exxon Mobil is exploiting it to cover up decades of toxic spills in corporate greed.”