Posted on 06/21/2012 8:49:19 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
Every child who visited Elizabeth House Flowers on South Boulevard used to walk out toting a free balloon. But a long-running global helium shortage means the company – along with other small businesses in Charlotte and around the country – must conserve resources and even turn away customers. At Elizabeth House, free balloons are now out of the question. Helium, a natural resource, is usually harvested from natural gas reserves. The shortage, which has dragged on for a year and won’t end for months, is a simple case of demand outweighing supply, said Joe Peterson, assistant field manager of helium resources at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. In Europe, a sluggish economy is producing less natural gas, he said, and that means helium production is also down. “There have been and there will be a lot of party balloon-type stores that will be impacted by the current shortage,” Peterson said. At Todd’s Flowers on Central Avenue, for instance, the florist’s helium tanks haven’t been filled since November. Without helium, the florist had to turn down about 25 balloon bouquet orders for Valentine’s Day, account manager Lindsey Ward said. Helium, a finite resource, does a lot more than inflate balloons. It’s also used in MRI procedures, fiber-optic cables, welding procedures and lab research, and it often has no substitute. Pennsylvania-based Airgas, which controls 22 percent of the U.S. market of helium and supplies many Charlotte companies, has had to prioritize its customers, spokesman Doug Sherman said. Airgas cut off customers without contracts, and even those with contracts aren’t guaranteed their full supply, he said. “Believe me, our business is moving gases,” he said. “We’d be selling it if we had it.” Carolinas HealthCare System hospitals haven’t had any supply problems, spokesman Kevin McCarthy said. “There are a couple of grades of helium, and the grade we get is a medical grade,” he said. “Our supplier has been able to meet all our medical-grade helium needs.” Likewise, Harris Teeter grocery stores have been unaffected. The chain continues to give free balloons to children who visit the store, said Catherine Reuhl, communication manager. And Balloon and Party Service in uptown Charlotte survives thanks to its helium provider, Charlotte-based Little Balloon Co. “If it wasn’t for him, we’d probably be out of business,” General Manager Carolyn Mason said. Mason said helium prices have jumped more than 25 percent since 2012 began, from $90 to $115 a tank. The shortage, she said, has necessitated price increases. “We tried not to go up that much,” she said. “But yes, we have to charge more.” Though helium is a nonrenewable resource, Peterson said it won’t run out soon. “For more than 50, 75, 100 years, there will be helium available,” he said. A Wyoming-based plant slated to open in December is expected to ease the current shortage, he said. In the meantime, conservation is key. “Now is the perfect time to begin conservation measures such as recovering helium from MRI machines,” he said. “In applications where the helium is used as a gas and it goes to the atmosphere, there has been some talk of being able to capture that gas and recycle it.”
One word, “Hydrogen”. Just tell the kiddies to keep it away from open flames...
Hydrogen party balloons. Just don't rub them on your head or sweater to create a spark. Oh, the humanity!
Congress forced the DOD to sell off its stockpile of helium. Now that’s gone, and we don’t have much of a stockpile. It’s too valuable to be wasted in balloons.
Most of the U.S.’s Helium was originally coming from a well in Amarillo Texas. All those WWII blimps etc. got it there. Must be tapped out I guess...
The 10 Most Abundant Elements in the Universe
Source: Exploring Chemical Elements and their Compounds; David L. Heiserman, 1992
| Element | Abundance measured relative to silicon |
| Hydrogen | 40,000 |
| Helium | 3,100 |
| Oxygen | 22 |
| Neon | 8.6 |
| Nitrogen | 6.6 |
| Carbon | 3.5 |
| Silicon | 1 |
| Magnesium | 0.91 |
| Iron | 0.6 |
| Sulfur | 0.38 |
I’ll just put a tube on my “Mr. Fusion” and drain off the helium it creates.
There are ~ 250 full bottles of helium sitting on pallets over at the UCAR campus nearby, figured they’re either going to launch a big package or have a really big party.
let’s all talk like Donald Duck.
I have highlighted the solution and the problem.
Helium is abundant in the rest of the Universe, but relatively scarce here on Earth. The reason? Helium can escape Earth’s gravity and dissipate into outer space.
Unfortunately, most of that helium is found inside stars like our sun. You can go get as much as you want, but to keep from burning up I’d advise you to go at night.
my guess is that a 60/30,10 helium, hydrogen, nitrogen mix would be ok for balloons, non explosive and relatively cheap.
you only need 30 for the hydrogen because it has a much bigger lifting ability than helium which allows you put in a very cheap 10 percent nitrogen component.
Just like many other resources, China is willing to pay more. This creates shortages.
Must be all the folks in this economy opting for helium suicide kits...
liquid helium is essential for low temperature physics work.
my guess is that is what it is for.
liquid helium is essential for low temperature physics work.
my guess is that is what it is for.
Looks like there is also a shortage of paragraphs too
Better still mix it with about 1/3 volume of O2, get a long string, glue black powder or pyrodex around the last 8 inches or so of the string, tie the pyrodex end of the string to the baloon (or tape it), start the string smoldering at the other end, and let it go. You can hear a large one from over a mile away. (The things one does as a college student)
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