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Author Topic: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!  (Read 3026 times)

Offline MrMxyzptlk

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UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« on: April 14, 2008, 10:36:28 PM »


It may not SEEM like a disaster, and most people haven't heard anything about this at all, but the (currently-known) largest deposit of Helium in the world - near Amarillo, Texas in the USA - will be depleted within the next 8-9 years at current consumption rates!

Read "Helium Supplies Endangered...."

"Big Deal! Go mine more!" says you.

Um, not only is that deposit in Texas the largest, it's one third of ALL the known helium on the planet!  (There may be more in Russia, but they've not bothered to go looking for it there yet.  Smart move, esp. if they wait until it starts running out eslewhere.... $$$$ )

"Manufacturing" the stuff is a joke, because it is made one of two ways: 1) essentially a continuous atomic hydrogen explosion, from which helium is a by-product, or 2) find a place to decay radioactive isotopes for a few millennia....

#1 is actually happening all the time: In our sun.  (Heh. Wanna be on THAT helium-mining crew?!?  :o )

But hey! What's just ONE MORE thing to worry about, eh?!?

 ::)  :-\  :'(


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Offline BFM_Hydra

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2008, 01:51:50 AM »
Sigh. Humans are dumb as well as stupid.

Hey, was that Tautological?
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Offline RUSTY0

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2008, 05:58:40 AM »

   And mostly recovered from natural gas deposits. This artical says about 2%.
It is a nonrenewable resource and should stored and doled out less freely than it has been.
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Helium.html
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Offline §§}Compdude

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2008, 10:29:40 AM »
As soon as we get rid of helium I won't have to look at balloon shards that have fallen out of the sky.  :LOL:

Who cares if hydrogen is flammable? So is the balloon!
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Offline Plixity

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2008, 04:41:22 PM »
Quote from: BFM_Hydra on April 15, 2008, 01:51:50 AM
Sigh. Humans are dumb as well as stupid.

I second that :)...

Better get a head-start on decaying some radioactive isotopes, then!
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Offline BFM_Edison

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2008, 03:50:33 PM »
Quote from: BFM_Hydra on April 15, 2008, 01:51:50 AM
Sigh. Humans are dumb as well as stupid.

Hey, was that Tautological?

No, it was just repetitive and redundant.
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Offline ThE BrIcK

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2008, 05:03:10 PM »
Can't they just use another inert gas that's lighter then oxygen?
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Offline BFM_Hydra

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2008, 07:28:37 PM »
Quote
No, it was just repetitive and redundant.

:LOL:
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Offline Goalie

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2008, 11:28:05 PM »
Eh, just go fuse some hydrogen atoms.  The sun does that all the time!

Of course, the sun is the hottest object in the solar system...

Then again, we do have fusion chambers that can recreate this process.

But yeah, forget global warming.  No more Goodyear blimps????    :siren: :siren:  OH NO!!!!!
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Offline -JR-Pongo

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #9 on: April 21, 2008, 09:57:16 AM »
That's not an environmental disaster... it's more of a potential economic problem as the supply drops and the price skyrockets.  Helium is used as an inert gas in welding and probably other industrial processes.  Finding replacements will at least cost more and may prove difficult.
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Offline Leevanhawk

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2008, 04:34:24 PM »
Quote from: bfm_Goalie on April 16, 2008, 11:28:05 PM
Eh, just go fuse some hydrogen atoms.
The problem with fusing some hydrogen atoms is:
This requires particle accelerators. They are expensive. They can only make a few helium atoms at a time.
No.
Im with Mxy, Lets go to the Sun! [/fry]
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Offline panoze

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2008, 05:46:03 PM »
Wow, atomic compost!  Very interesting article Mr. Mxy, thanks for posting that! 
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Offline MrMxyzptlk

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2008, 08:59:07 PM »
Quote from: BFM_panoze on April 22, 2008, 05:46:03 PM
Wow, atomic compost!  Very interesting article Mr. Mxy, thanks for posting that! 

heh!

I love that analogy, panoze! 

That shudda been the title of the article!

Nicely done!
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Offline -JR-Pongo

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Re: UGH! Another environmental disaster looms!
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2008, 10:06:28 AM »
There is a way to fuse a bunch of hydrogen atoms together at once... generally in some sort of magnetic field.  And we have people working on it.  The potential loss of helium balloons at birthday parties only underscores the need for working fusion power plants/balloon stations.
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