the helium shortage is here

The reason I asked about my earlier helium post is because of recent helium news. I wrote back in 2011...

I noticed the warning a few days ago that our primary supply of helium is nearly exhausted. The world's largest reservoir of it is located in the Texas panhandle (near Amarillo) and will likely run dry around 2016.
- https://mellowtigger.dreamwidth.org/7806.html

... and now in 2019, helium prices are rising significantly.

"But it's safe to say the price has gone up 50% to 100%, depending on who you are and where you are in the supply chain."

Mr Kornbluth says the catalyst for the latest rise in price was a US government auction of crude helium in August last year.

The national helium reserve is now one of the biggest suppliers of helium. It was originally set up as a strategic store for supplying gas to US airships, but has auctioned its supplies annually to private industry since 2013. However, this was the last such auction until 2021.

At the auction, the average price for crude helium rose a whopping 135% year-on-year as industrial users acted to boost stocks for future years.

"It wasn't very difficult for major suppliers to pass this increase on to their customers, so it did affect worldwide pricing," says Mr Kornbluth.

- https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49715838

So, basically, industries have started stockpiling their own caches of helium because they know it's nearly gone.  Please don't buy any more party balloons.  That helium is needed for MRI scanners.

Let's start paying attention to the scientists who tell us how the planet operates. They know stuff.