system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If Helium is so scarce, why are Helium balloons so common?

Also, if we stopped using it in balloons, would that make much of a difference in the long term?
gpt
It's not scarce yet, but the alarm is because there is only just so much in the earth and it is being used up fast, often just released into the air, where it relatively quickly floats to the top of the atmosphere and gradually gets propelled by the solar wind away from earth.

It's somewhat controversial as to exactly when we'll run out of accessible helium.

> if we stopped using it in balloons, would that make much of a difference in the long term?

No, that's not a large usage. It's the amount being thrown away to the atmosphere that is really large.

It has critical and irreplaceable use in physics and engineering and medical applications, so everyone should note that it's definitely not the party balloons that make this an important topic.