AT Airborne Wind

1NC - Solvency
Benefits of airborne wind energy too far off to solve short term.
Inman, 12
(Near Zero, Energy High in the Sky: Expert Perspectives on Airborne Wind Energy Systems, ed. Mason Inman, 9 September 2012 (available at: http://nearzero.org/)) KH Many experts argued that airborne wind energy is in too early of a stage to benefit from market incentives. For example, Martin Hoffert commented: This technology is nowhere near ready for commercialization. What we need now are demonstration projects of competitive ideas. In the discussion, there was disagreement about whether the money would be better directed to- ward universities and government labs, or whether it should go to companies. In Near Zeros discussion, Damon Vander Lind of Makani Power said, For now, the most judicious use of funds may be to give promising companies not having fully functional prototypes enough money to complete and test fully functional prototypes, and to give those having fully functional prototypes budget to pursue utility scale prototypes. This would probably require a budget in the tens of millions rather than billions. But others directly involved in the burgeoning airborne wind industry did not necessarily favor funding going to companies. For example, Luciano Fagiano of Italy-based KITEnrg argued R&D in universities and research centres is probably the most effective way to tackle the uncertain aspectsof the different technologies. One route for funding university research would be through a program known as NASA Research Announcements, said NASA researcher Mark Moore. It would be great to achieve significant university involvement in air- borne wind energy, Moore said, adding that supporting a broad spectrum of universities would ensure significant publications in open literatureto the benefit of all players in industry and research. Reaching Scale To gauge how long it may take for airborne wind energy to reach commercial scale, Near Zero asked experts how long it might take to build and install enough systems to produce 1 gigawatt (1 billion watts) of electricity. (For comparison, starting from applications in satellites, the solar industry took about 40 years to reach cumulative commercial production of 1 gigawatt of solar panels.) Near Zero asked how long it would take to reach 1 gigawatt in each of three cases: no support, $10 million per year, and $100 million per year (see Fig. 6). The experts answers diverged widely, with some saying airborne wind energy could reach 1 gigawatt within a few years, while others said it would take many decadesperhaps 50 years or more. But all agreed that with no government support, it would take far longer for airborne wind energy to scale up. To reach 1 gigawatt, on average the experts said: with no support, it would take 20 years with annual funding of $10 million it would take 15 years with annual funding of $100 million it would take 9 years.

Too many issues facing regulation to be successful, plan decreasing restrictions doesnt solve, need stronger regulatory framework
Levitan, 12
(High-Altitude Wind Energy:Huge Potential And Hurdles 24 SEP 2012: REPORT Dave Levitan is a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia who writes about energy, the environment, and health. His articles have been published byReuters, SolveClimate, IEEE

Spectrum, and Psychology Today. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/high_altitude_wind_energy_huge_potential_and_hurdles/2576/) KH Outside of R&D issues, another huge challenge is regulation. What, exactly, is a 80-foot-wide device, tethered to the ground, flying circles 1,000 feet up in the air? Is it an airplane? A building or obstacle? There is no clear regulatory framework for the industry, though in 2011 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration did begin a process meant to include airborne wind systems in their governing structure. For the moment, this will limit testing to 499 feet of altitude, meaning the jet streams are still far out of reach. There is no way you can operate without some form of official approval from the authorities, Ruiterkamp of Ampyx says. But he warns against trying to create a new regulatory framework from scratch, either in the Netherlands where his company is based, or in the U.S. If you have to set this up all by yourself as an industry, it might take 15 years and there is no guarantee what the outcome will be, Ruiterkamp says. He thinks that convincing authorities to work within the existing regulatory environment for manned and, increasingly, unmanned aircraft is the best approach. Safety and related regulations are not trivial concerns. That 5-MW Makani device thats in the works? Its 213-foot wingspan is about the same as that of a Boeing 747. If something that big breaks its tether and hits the ground, it poses obvious dangers. Even the M600 is roughly the same width as the wingspan of a Boeing 737. Clearly, if industrial-scale farms are coming that feature these mammoths flying around at the end of 1,000-foot tethers, it cant happen without strict regulatory control.

No solvencySiting and tech barriers cause complexity Cahoon, 2011

[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB One challenge for AWE systems when compared to ground-based systems are the components, such as flying wind-rotors, that increase the level of complexity for AWE systems. For example, the technology for low-weight, high-strength cables has recent improvements that will make AWE more viable than it has been in the past. But lowweight, high-strength cables are not yet widely available, and remain semi-expensive. 10 This makes AWE systems more complex and, therefore, more expensive to operate than systems that are simply sitting on the ground. Also, a challenge would be to ensure 25 compatibility with the DoD mission requirements; for example, allowing aircraft operations may require the AWE system to be geographically separated from the installation and within a certain safety distance from the base so that cables do not pose a safety hazard.

No solvencycauses aircraft safety and interference issues Cahoon, 2011

[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB Of course, the extreme heights that these AWE systems operate in also create some major obstacles. Chiefly, a 10 km high tethered system requires a massive region of restricted air space. This altitude occurs at about the same altitude that airlines like to fly at; this could cause significant resistance in the aviation industry to AWE systems operating at these heights, not to mention that the rotor systems require a logistical, creative solution for

military installations where AWE is used simultaneously near an 29 airfield. But in such cases, a circular area of AWE systems spaced around the DoD site could be established to ensure safety of all aircraft.

Airborne wind still intermittentmeans no solvency Cahoon, 2011

[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB One of the biggest problems with green energy sources, such as wind and solar power, is that energy flow is intermittent. This means that there is always some period of time, even in the best locations, where absolutely zero power will be produced. Even for AWE, the best locations will still produce no power at least 5% of the time. 13, 19 Power intermittence is a major problem for utility companies, even for devices like solar generators. If a company or military operation has to have a fossil fuel power station or massive energy storage to act as a backup for the wind power, then it drastically reduces any cost savings that the AWE might provide.

2NC No Commercialization
Technical and Logistical barriers to commercialization MacCleery, 2011
[Bryan, clean energy product manager at National Instruments, The Advent of Airborne Wind Power, January 2011, http://windsystemsmag.com/article/detail/187/the-advent-of-airbornewind-power] /Wyo-MB Harnessing high-altitude wind is a bold vision but brings with it a wide range of technical and logistical challenges, from finding tether lines that are strong and light enough to gaining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval and airspace clearance. Even at boundary layer altitudes, FAA permitting questions need to be resolved. At least for now, making tropospheric wind commercially viable is likely to remain elusive. Even companies with their sights set on the troposphere plan to start at more modest heights. At 1,000 feet wind is profitable on 70 percent of the world, says Pierre Rivard, CEO of MAGENN Power, a company developing lighter than air generators resembling blimps that also double as floating cell phone towers.

They cant win timeframe- developers of AWE prove that the systems are still in the developmental phase and wont be ready for several years Cherny 12
*Dimitri, Founder and CEO of Highest Wind LLC, Highest Wind LLC response to FAA docket 2011-1279 regarding Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES). 2.3.2012. < http://www.energykitesystems.net/FAA/FAAfromHighestWind.pdf>//wyo-hdm] All American AWE system developers are years away from commercialization. We are all currently in the development and test phase and will likely remain here for the next three or four years before any of us have systems ready for purchase. 2. Unlike other aircraft, development of AWE systems requires frequent, and eventually continuous flight testing, day and night in all weather conditions for weeks and months on end. Longevity, survivability, and extremely low maintenance requirements are the keys to the commercial feasibility of AWE systems. Only by keeping AWE systems in the air for months at a stretch will any developer be able to determine whether their system is ready for commercialization. We are all essentially designing flying vehicles that must be as reliable
as wind turbines more reliable than the best existing passenger aircraft. 3. Testing of AWE systems must occur at all the altitudes at which they will eventually be allowed to fly commercially. Testing at lower altitudes will enable us to confirm flying vehicle designs but not entire system designs enough to confirm commercial feasibility.

2NC Cant Reach High Jet Streams

Real benefits involve reaching jet stream heights, tech too far off to solve in the near future.
Levitan, 12
(High-Altitude Wind Energy:Huge Potential And Hurdles 24 SEP 2012: REPORT Dave Levitan is a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia who writes about energy, the environment, and health. His articles have been published byReuters, SolveClimate, IEEE Spectrum, and Psychology Today. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/high_altitude_wind_energy_huge_potential_and_hurdles/2576/) KH But scaling up past the prototype stage wont be easy. Experts in the industry think that without strong government support, installing even one gigawatt of airborne power (50 GW of standard, terrestrial wind are already installed in the U.S.) could take 20 years or more, an eternity when drastic emissions reductions are the goal. With a relatively modest government investment of $100 million per year, that one gigawatt goal could be attained in fewer than 10 years, wind industry executives say. Some larger companies such as Honeywell and 3M have shown some interest, but the major traditional wind power developers Siemens, GE, Vestas, and others have so far left the airborne designs to the startups. Without major investment, some of the specific engineering challenges may be difficult to overcome. According to an industry survey by the nonprofit energy analysis group Near Zero, the biggest remaining issue is reliability: In order to be viable, airborne devices would need to stay aloft for long periods of time with little maintenance required. When it comes to really taking advantage of higher altitude wind, Caldeira points out that reaching as high as the jet stream is the real prize. The power density in Earths jet streams is around 100 times that of sunlight hitting a standard photovoltaic cell. The fact that there is no other renewable energy source available in abundance with such high power densities says to me that we should have a research program trying to exploit it, Caldeira says. But the differences in engineering requirements between flying a device at 1,000 feet and at five or six miles are enormous.

2NC No Solvency Technical Hurdles

Lighting strikes increase complexity Cahoon, 2011
[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB Another concern is lightning striking upon systems that are in a higher altitude. This has to be mitigated by either bringing down the high-altitude system during lightning storms, or by designing it so that it can withstand the lightning strikes. This can be done: but it, too, increases the expense and complexity of the system. 11

Multiple barriers to solvency Cahoon, 2011

[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB The challenges that this AWE resource face are significant. First, AWE systems require restricted air space to operatethis will take a lot of discussion among people, such as the FAA and Congress, to determine how the U.S. and the DoD can take this step. The systems need to be proven reliable and safe, because no one wants any accidents such as wind generators falling on houses or massive cables crashing down. In addition, if technology can develop (for example, in such a way as to reduce cable weight per unit length), then this will allow the AWE systems to consistently reach the highest altitudes. The capacity factor reveals that if the systems are operated perfectly, they will still not be as consistently available as fossil fuel sources. Even the best AWE sites will provide no power at least 5% of the time. 1

Too many significant challenges to solve Cahoon, 2011

[Troy, Thesis at DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, AIRBORNE WIND ENERGY: IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE, March 2011, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a539255.pdf] /Wyo-MB The AWE technology does face some significant challenges that need to be overcome. One challenge is the increased complexity of an airborne system. The airborne nature of AWE systems requires the use of lighter and more expensive materials. An airborne system will also require the development of flight controls. The long tether is also a significant design challenge. An additional obstacle to AWE implementation is the issue of allocating air space for the AWE systems to use and share with other aircraft. Despite the challenges of AWE technology, no obstacles appear to be insurmountable.

Developers are facing tether problems that will make AWE infeasible Cherny 12
*Dimitri, Founder and CEO of Highest Wind LLC, Developer of AWE, Highest Wind LLC response to FAA docket 2011-1279 regarding Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES). 2.3.2012. < http://www.energykitesystems.net/FAA/FAAfromHighestWind.pdf>//wyo-hdm]

Many AWE systems in development utilize cross-wind motion, flying nearly perpendicular to the wind at high speeds. Such motion across the wind induces high levels of drag in the tether, a problem many developers are struggling to overcome. The addition of flags or lights on the tether would increase tether drag even further, compounding this problem to the point that many otherwise successful AWE designs might become completely infeasible. At this point we are
unsure if our system will use rotor blades made of aluminum or some sort of composite material. The internal structures of the body will be primarily composed of aluminum with some sort of plastic aero-shell around the body. For the next couple of years of testing our rotors will continue to be made of wood.

Tech infeasible- required lights to prevent air-collisions for AWE dont exist Cherny 12
[Dimitri, Founder and CEO of Highest Wind LLC, Developer of AWE, Highest Wind LLC response to FAA docket 2011-1279 regarding Airborne Wind Energy Systems (AWES). 2.3.2012. < http://www.energykitesystems.net/FAA/FAAfromHighestWind.pdf>//wyo-hdm] The current requirement for anti-collision lighting the same as for towers (L-864 and L-865) will require the development of new lights meeting those standards which have half the weight, size and energy requirements of those available today. However, that seems like it could be possible within the next few years. The requirement for the same lights on the tether at 350 foot intervals would make our system commercially infeasible given the current or future technologies for those lights. We have no easy way to provide power to those lights along the tether and would face extreme difficulties with any system to attach or detach those lights as the tether is reeled in and out. Similarly, the current requirement for flags every fifty feet on the tether would be very difficult to achieve.

Reliability of tech is a significant barrier Fries, 2012

[Karen, near zero, High-altitude winds have large potential as a source of clean energy, 9-10-12, http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-09/nz-hwh090912.php] /Wyo-MB However, there are many barriers facing airborne wind energy. According to the results of the expert survey, the primary barrier is the reliability of the technologies, since airborne wind energy systems would have to remain aloft for long periods of time, in the face of shifting winds and changing weather.

High wind conditions cause mechanical issues Winslow, 2010

[Lance, 11-16-2010, Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank, Tubular Airborne Wind Turbine Aerostats - Challenges in Engineering, Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5390603 Not long ago, a gentleman approached me to discuss airborne wind turbines after reading one of my articles on aerostats used in surveillance along the US-Mexican Border. You see there is a real problem with these units during high-wind conditions. Thus, they have to bring in these small surveillance blimps during the annual "Santa Ana Winds" known to that region - these are fierce winds with 60-80 mph hour gusts at times. And, of course as soon as they do, the illegal aliens see they are gone and come over in large human herds rushing the border in mass and overwhelming border security teams. Okay so, that's the main problem and to counteract this problem I wrote an article on how to fly an aerostat like a kit at times, then like an aircraft at other times suggesting various morphing technologies to solve these problems. Turns out there

is a small start up team in the Boston Area dealing with a similar problem, as their little aerostat design has a wind turbine inside of its donut shape hull. Perhaps, you've seen the old article in the 1940s or 1950s with pictures tethered wind generator blimp, well this group pretty much borrowed those ancient ideas and are running with them as if they are something new and unique. Indeed, I told the gentleman; it's definitely good to hear from you and yes, I love the simple design, it looks Murphy Proof, and yet, still, I immediately saw inherent flaws in the design, so I asked them: "How do you deal with the burden on the shaft bearings (friction) and longevity of the system due to changes in relative wind direction? Does the turbine have an aft weather vane fin to keep the system pointed directly into the wind, if so does it have a dampening system to prevent buffeting?" Turns out there were dealing with those challenges, and had considered some of those problems from a mathematical standpoint - on paper - but remember this isn't MIT college work anymore, now it's the real world. So, I put together some sketches ready to give to them on how to use simple mechanical solutions and slats to alleviate this problem. But suffice it to say, their design team has work to do. Please consider all this.

2NC No Modeling
No international modeling means wind will never reach maximum capacity to solve warming and energy demands. (and conflict over water territory, where the vast majority of airborne wind would be harvested)
Redorbit, 12
(There Is Enough Wind To Go Around September 11, 2012 http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112691410/wind-power-091112/) KH
The team cautions that this saturation wind potential is a theoretical calculation and propose a fixed wind power potential for more practical applications. This fixed potential is the maximum power that can be extracted by a given number of wind turbines as they are spread apart over increasingly larger areas. They suggest that installing 4 million turbines would yield up to 7.5 TW, more than enough to supply half the worlds power demand in 2030, which the study estimates to be around 11.5 TW every year. Spreading wind farms out worldwide in windy locations would increase efficiency, as well as

minimize costs and reduce overall impacts on the environment when compared with packing the same 4 million turbines in a few spots. We have a long way to go. Today, we have installed a little over one percent of the wind power needed, said Jacobson. In terms of surface area, Jacobson and Archer would place half of the four million turbines over water. The remaining two million would require a little more than one-half of one percent of the Earths land
surface about half the area of the State of Alaska. However, virtually none of this area would be used solely for wind, but could serve dual purposes as open space, farmland, ranchland, or wildlife preserve. Rather than put all the turbines in a single location, Archer and Jacobson say it is best and most

efficient to spread out wind farms in high-wind sites across the globe the Gobi Desert, the American plains and the Sahara for example.

2NC Causes Climate Change

Energy extraction from jet streams causes climate change Science Daily, 2011
[11-30-2011, Gone With the Wind: Why the Fast Jet Stream Winds Cannot Contribute Much Renewable Energy After All, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111130100013.htm] /Wyo-MB Jet streams are regions of continuous wind speeds greater than 25 m/s that occur at altitudes of 7-16 km. Their high speeds seem to suggest an almost unlimited source of renewable energy that would only need airborne wind energy technology to utilize it. Claims that this potential energy source could "continuously power all civilization" sparked large investments into exploitation of this potential energy resource. However, just like any other wind and weather system on Earth, jet streams are ultimately caused by the fact that the equatorial regions are heated more strongly by the sun than are polar regions. This difference in heating results in large differences in temperature and air pressure between the equator and the poles, which are the driving forces that set the atmosphere into motion and create wind. It is this differential heating that sets the upper limit on how much wind can be generated and how much of this could potentially be used as a renewable energy resource. It is well known in meteorology that the high wind speeds of jet streams result from the near absence of friction. In technical terms, this fact is referred to in meteorology as "geostrophic flow." This flow is governed by an accelerating force caused by pressure differences in the upper atmosphere, and the so-called Coriolis force arising from Earth's rotation. Because the geostrophic flow takes place in the upper atmosphere, far removed from the influence of the surface and at low air density, the slow-down by friction plays a very minor role. Hence, it takes only very little power to accelerate and sustain jet streams. "It is this low energy generation rate that ultimately limits the potential use of jet streams as a renewable energy resource," says Dr. Axel Kleidon, head of the independent Max Planck Research Group 'Biospheric Theory and Modelling'. Using this approach based on atmospheric energetics, Kleidon's group used climate model simulations to calculate the maximum rate at which wind energy can be extracted from the global atmosphere. Their estimate of a maximum of 7.5 TW (1 TW = 10^12 W, a measure for power and energy consumption) is 200-times less than previously reported and could potentially account for merely about half of the global human energy demand of 17 TW in 2010. Max Planck researchers also estimated the climatic consequences that would arise if jet stream wind power would be used as a renewable energy resource. As any wind turbine must add some drag to the flow to extract the energy of the wind and convert it into electricity, the balance of forces of the jet stream must also change as soon as energy is extracted. If 7.5 TW were extracted from jet streams as a renewable energy source, this would alter the natural balance of forces that shape the jet streams to such an extent that the driving atmospheric pressure gradient between the equator and the poles is depleted. "Such a disruption of jet stream flow would slow down the entire climate system. The atmosphere would generate 40 times less wind energy than what we would gain from the wind turbines," explains Lee Miller, first author of the study. "This results in drastic changes in temperature and weather."

Helium DA Links
Airbourne wind designs use helium blimps Levitan 12
(Dave Levitan is a freelance journalist based in Philadelphia who writes about energy, the environment, and health. High-Altitude Wind Energy: Huge Potential And Hurdles 9-24-12 http://e360.yale.edu/feature/high_altitude_wind_energy_huge_potential_and_hurdles/2576// wyoccd) Two companies with dramatically different ideas are California-based Magenn Power and Boston-based Altaeros. Magenns helium-filled, blimp-like structure floats 1,000 feet up, and the entire balloon spins around a horizontal axis as the wind blows past. This technology is about as bird-friendly a design as one could imagine, with no spinning blades, and has undergone successful test flights. Altaeros, meanwhile, also uses a helium-filled device, though to quite different effect. The balloon shell surrounds the blades and hub of a standard turbine in the center, basically serving to lift a normal windmill 1,000 feet off the ground. The company says it successfully tested a prototype
earlier this year, and reports that the turbine generated twice the power at 350 feet as the same turbine did at standard heights of about 100 feet. These inflatable designs, along with soft-wing kite designs like that made by North Carolina-based Windlift, may end up being most suitable for off-grid, remote applications, given their easy transportability and quick set-up times, wind industry executives say.

AWT technology used helium balloons Scifi Ideas 12

(Air Bourne Wind Generators: The Future of Renewable Energy? 4-3-12 http://www.scifiideas.com/sfi/technology/airborne-wind-generators-the-future-of-renewableenergy//wyoccd) The airborne wind turbine (AWT) has been created by Altaeros Energies, a company formed out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It uses a helium-filled inflatable shell to rise to high into the air
where winds are stronger and more consistent, making it much more reliable than controversial land-based wind turbines. A test of the AWT at the Loring Commerce Center in Limestone, Maine earlier this year (2012) saw the unit raised to a height of 350 feet and winched back to its mobile platform in an automated cycle. Even at that height, the generator produced twice as much energy as it had at the height of a conventional tower, but the company says that the AWT is designed to reach 1000 feet where the strong winds would allow it to produce five times as much electricity. The airborne wind turbine is launched from a specially designed trailer, to which it remains anchored. This simple set-up would also have the advantage of reducing the high energy costs and construction times associated with regular wind turbines. Another advantage the AWT has over its counterparts is the lack of noise pollution and visual impact on the landscape, as well as easier maintenance. Of course, the disadvantage is the potential danger that the unit and cables pose to aircraft.

AWT uses helium blimps-causes mass helium shortage Casey 12

(Tina Casey, writer for Clean Technia. Wind Farm in the Sky Created by Donut-Shaped Blimp 42-12 http://cleantechnica.com/2012/04/02/wind-farm-in-the-sky-created-by-donut-shapedblimp/#L1IYWDmb2YvgCeCT.99//wyoccd) . Another obstacle looming ahead is the helium supply issue. Although one of the most abundant elements in the universe, helium is extremely rare on Earth. It is a component of natural gas,
but it usually occurs in such small proportions that it is not worth recovering. Natural gas deposits in parts of the U.S. are some of

the worlds most helium-rich and for this reason the U.S. dominates the global market, but despite the countrys current natural gas drilling boom helium is in short supply. A massive U.S. helium stockpile from the early 20th century was sold off in the 1990s, lowering its prices and leading to a massive boom in the party balloon business, contributing to a squandering attitude that some analysts blame for the shortage. Helium is also widely used in medical diagnostics and research. An article last month in The Guardian reported the gas is becoming worryingly scarce for some purchasers in these fields. Helium

cannot be synthesized (at least, not so far) and the only currently available substitute is hydrogen. Hydrogen is
flammable and has not been used in commercial blimps since the Hindenburg passenger blimp disaster of 1937, which resulted in 36 deaths. Also of concern is the current majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, which has been using federal funding for alternative energy as an election-year issue with which to bash the Obama Administration.