Saturday 24 March 2012

Helium shortage

Helium shortage: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112497113/helium-shortage-leaves-scientists-in-no-mood-to-celebrate/: perhaps recycling helium in all research labs should also be attempted! "According to some, the world may run completely out of helium gas within 30 years. Such an outage could have major implications on space travel and exploration, scientific and nuclear research, and even medical advances and early detection of diseases.
To make the situation all the more frustrating is the way we are depleting this resource: selling the gas at unbelievable low prices for party balloons and other uses. The writing on the wall is clear: the world is running out of the precious gas at an alarming rate, and scientists worry if current conditions continue, we may have to travel, quite literally, to the ends of the Earth to find more.
Helium is a natural byproduct of petrochemicals and therefore, is a non-renewable resource. The gas is released during natural gas and oil drilling. Therefore, most of the gas are found in the mineral-rich south and southwest. If the gas is not captured, it is released into the air, making it impossible to recover."

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