Up, Up and Away, Not So Fast!
Guest Blog By: Our very own - Kevin Vinicombe Most people aren’t aware of the significant Helium shortage currently in the United States until they try to purchase Helium filled Balloons from their local Party Shop or Florist. Some retailers that use Helium for decorating or resale are finding it increasingly difficult to secure a supply; some vendors are rationing or completely cutting off retailers. Unfortunately the shortage as been creeping up on us for a long time, some experts say it began in the 1996 when the US Government starting selling their reserves to private refiners as part of the Helium Privatization Act. This made helium a plentiful resource for years, until recently. Helium is extracted during the same process with Natural Gas and since we’ve experienced a mild Winter the extraction of Natural Gas has been minimized even though there is plenty of Gas available. It boils down to basic Economics of Supply/Demand and Cost/Benefit for the comp...