So, this global helium shortage...
...as reported by 'Bang Goes the Theory' on BBC1.

Why can't they just go up and get the balloons back?
( fluffymitten NAN, Mon 26 Sep 2011, 19:31, 4 replies)

Troiuble with helium
is that it escapes into space and is lost forever. Gravity don't mean shit to it.

If we ever get nuclear fusion, mind, helium will be so abundant that we'll all have personal zeppelins.
(rogerzilla, Mon 26 Sep 2011, 20:15, closed)

It won't really, though.
Nuclear fusion is a very efficient way of producing energy. You don't need much hydrogen to liberate a huge amount of energy in creating helium*, so in the grand scheme of things a power station isn't going to produce that many balloonfuls of helium.

*other nuclear fusion reactions are available.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 26 Sep 2011, 22:25, closed)

It is for this reason that balloons make me do a big sads. :(
I'm the life and soul of parties.
(Shippy likes linebreaks and doesn't care what you think, Tue 27 Sep 2011, 3:18, closed)

The thing is, we only have a shortage by design.
The US have decided not to store any more, and it has been decided that any found in oil deposits is to be vented into the atmosphere.
No idea why, but someone doesn't want Helium stores. Or, perhaps, someone has a cache and wants the price to go up so that they can make money. Must be a lot though because they'd have had to bribe quite a lot of people.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 27 Sep 2011, 11:14, closed)