this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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chapotraphouse

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Privatizing the US national helium reserve. Gonna laugh when in a few years the government of another nation ends up owning it. Helium is dwindling finite resource that key technological infrastructure relies upon.

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[–] DefinitelyNotAPhone@hexbear.net 99 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Just tearing the copper wires out of the walls without a shred of irony at this point.

[–] davel@hexbear.net 75 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nobody left to neocolonize but ourselves I guess.

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 56 points 2 years ago (104 children)

someone once said that fascism is when the colonial methods of oppression are brought home to the imperial core

[–] PM_ME_YOUR_FOUCAULTS@hexbear.net 41 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 31 points 2 years ago (1 children)
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[–] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 77 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Gonna laugh when in a few years the government of another nation ends up owning it.

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/03/1114964240/new-battery-technology-china-vanadium

A bunch of scrappy engineers made a next generation battery and sold the technology to the US government

The government never bothered to manufacture anything. Instead they sold everything to China and now they’re already releasing public versions of the batteries. Now the US doesn’t have any knowledge on the batteries or even the factories to build them

[–] tripartitegraph@hexbear.net 42 points 2 years ago (1 children)

the US doesn’t have any knowledge on the batteries or even the factories to build them

hilariously based

[–] Assian_Candor@hexbear.net 33 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The story is a trip

Every dumb and evil thing in amerikkka can ultimately be traced back to capitalist greed

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[–] invo_rt@hexbear.net 30 points 2 years ago

Many such cases xi-cooking

[–] alcoholicorn@hexbear.net 67 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Helium is technically finite, but it's really a byproduct of natural gas extraction. Most natural gas operations don't bother to even harvest the helium.

[–] barrbaric@hexbear.net 64 points 2 years ago

Holy shit, why would you do this. Neoliberals are the stupidest people on the planet. "Oh well we have to sell it off because it's not profitable enough!" sure am glad this won't cause the price of helium to surge resulting in a hike in MRI costs.

[–] JuryNullification@hexbear.net 52 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Get ready for helium in everything for like three years and then it’s all gone. No more floaty balloons ever again.

[–] RedDawn@hexbear.net 33 points 2 years ago

We can always use hydrogen for the floaty balloons. Double as fireworks!

[–] shath@hexbear.net 51 points 2 years ago (1 children)

joe biden with the highest voice you've ever heard

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[–] absolutefuckinidiot@lemmygrad.ml 51 points 2 years ago

This has similar vibes to being an addict and selling your playstation or couch to buy drugs, but at least drugs are fun where is this is just being done to accumulate more capital for a dozen crusty old fucks

[–] TheGenderWitch@hexbear.net 45 points 2 years ago

capitalists are the stupidest fucking people on earth

[–] Hexbear2@hexbear.net 45 points 2 years ago (2 children)

This shit is a crime against the people and in a civilized country, these fuckers would be sent to a gulag for 20 years, then the people would seize the helium back.

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[–] FuckyWucky@hexbear.net 41 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] blobjim@hexbear.net 60 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

The article says it will probably owned by a German company, Messer Group. Germany and helium... 🤔

During the Nazi era, the Messer-led company benefited considerably from the regime's arms production, employed forced laborers and was a supplier for the V2 production and the Wehrmacht.[1] In the denazification process, Messer, who had been a member of the since 1933, was classified as a follower in 1948

oh, right.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Messer

Also, can't wait for this to make people's medical treatment even more expensive! Exciting times! Thanks Joe Biden!

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[–] gaycomputeruser@hexbear.net 37 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Can't wait to listen to all my analytical chemistry friends complain about how helium is too expensive and how they have to design new procedures.

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[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 32 points 2 years ago
[–] alcoholicorn@hexbear.net 31 points 2 years ago

Looks like we're already out, bought a "helium-filled" HDD and it doesn't even float.

[–] motherofmonsters@hexbear.net 27 points 2 years ago

When I looked into this a couple years ago, my understanding was that yes, the supply is finite, but the amount we have in storage is a lot and we slowing mining operations because we have enough on reserve for a while.

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