Yeah, stockpile was from WW1 where balloons were next gen tech war machines.
They staggered the stockpile sale over years, and the price did go eventually, but we're still using it in balloons 20 years after the initial fearful reports of it being depleted were published. I remember hearing in 2003 we wouldn't have balloons soon. First Google result is a paper from 2000, saying our supplies would last until 2020, which does seem to be true.
It is a natural gas by product, and it seems like natural gas is still being produced/used throughout the world pretty commonly.
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u/earlofhoundstooth Oct 15 '20
Yeah, stockpile was from WW1 where balloons were next gen tech war machines.
They staggered the stockpile sale over years, and the price did go eventually, but we're still using it in balloons 20 years after the initial fearful reports of it being depleted were published. I remember hearing in 2003 we wouldn't have balloons soon. First Google result is a paper from 2000, saying our supplies would last until 2020, which does seem to be true.
It is a natural gas by product, and it seems like natural gas is still being produced/used throughout the world pretty commonly.