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Helium shortage?
mindi
Posts: 1,858
Did anyone else hear about this? In the St Louis Post yesterday they had a story about how the helium supply will be depleted within ten years!
Is this something I should worry about?
Why does this upset me?
Is this something I should worry about?
Why does this upset me?
To 10c; "Your PJ tshirt should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady." - bionicamy
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Soon you won't be able to suck it in and talk funny
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seriously tho, i wonder why? any reasons given? seems bizarre.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
I told my son not to expect any balloons on his 18th birthday. They(my kids) think I am crazy.
I had no idea it was a natural resource. It says that the nation's lone helium reserve is in Texas, and they expect it will be depleted within 10 years, :(
here is a quick article about it:
While many party supply stores across the United States are bursting over a helium shortage, balloons are soaring at Ultimate Party supply store in Hattiesburg.
Owner Sadie Booth said her business was initially affected by the helium supply crunch, but ever since she located a reliable supplier, business has escalated.
"In the beginning our customers were limited as to how many balloons they could purchase, which was 12," she said. "Now, customers can order as many as they like for 99 cents a piece."
Shortages of helium, an odorless, colorless gas derived from natural gas production, began more than a year ago, according to Hans Stuart, spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Federal Helium Reserve near Amarillo, Texas.
But the demand for the gas is rising.
"Helium is extracted from the reserve and then refined by private plants, but there aren't enough refineries to keep up," Stuart said.
Last year, Americans spent $2 billion on party supply rentals, including helium-filled balloons.
The shortage not only is affecting balloon sales, but entire businesses as well.
Buddy Stubbs, president of Busyland Rent-all in Tupelo, said the shortage is crimping his entire business, which also rents tables, linens and other supplies.
Stubbs said customers have gotten frustrated when they can't get helium and have taken their business elsewhere.
Now Stubbs is considering folding.
"When it's costing us other business, it's probably something we'll have to get out of," he said.
Distributors decide who gets helium, and party decorators aren't high on their lists. Balloons represent about 7 percent of the U.S. helium consumption, said Jim Ely, spokesman for Radnor, Pa., based Airgas, Inc., the country's largest distributor of industrial gases.
"There are a lot more important uses for helium in medical, scientific and industrial applications than blowing up balloons," he said.
The company recently announced a 20 to 30 percent price increase for helium effective this month. Industrial gas provider Praxair Inc. plans a similar increase for January.
"The problem is only going to get worse," Stuart said. "The U.S. reservoir holds about 21 billion cubic feet, and about 2.1 billion cubic feet are taken out a year, so in a decade, it'll be gone."
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:(
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
cork shortage as well?
i know for wine there are many who use the fake corks nowadays....bleh. i like the real corks. most of our fave wines still do use real cork, but a few, such as [yellow tail] use the manufactured kind and it just ain't the same. :(
hmmmm...no party balloons and no corks in the future? bummer.
Let's just breathe...
I am myself like you somehow
Oh the horror...
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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lol, nice!