to think that you don't let off a load of helium balloons, whatever the cause?

[SignoraStronza]

Found this morning in the hedgerow of a cattle field, a memorial balloon with accompanying length of ribbon and plastic wrapped message. Thankfully I found it before our friend's beasts did.

While I have every sympathy (well, mostly but that's another thread) with the cause that the message was promoting and the bereavement the organisers suffer, AIBU to think that the damage this could have potentially caused to the environment is akin to those sky lanterns that people are finally beginning to get the message about?

There is a request to email with the location it was found - am not sure whether/what I should write. Prepared to be told In a grumpy arse.

Wouldn't it be better if scientists worked on a way to work MRI scans without the use of helium.

I have no experience of loosing a child and hopefully never will, but if releasing a balloon helps siblings then I have no problem with it.

Whilst having every sympathy with the sentiments that are sometimes behind releasing balloons and lanterns, I do think it is important to raise awareness of the environmental and safety implications and for individuals and organisations to consider alternatives. If we don't have the discussion, this won't happen and the problem will continue to escalate.

I would definitely send an email - if a cow had ended up becoming seriously ill or died from eating it then the people that released it would be guilty of criminal damage.

This is just an idea, but would a letter to send to company that does hot air ballon rides to deliver the letter in the sky help.

Just in a way children write letters to Santa.

Like I said above.

I was one who had a thread slagging me off for letting my children release a balloon for their dad.

If you have never seen your young children grieve for their dad, watch their pain and then lose two granddads a few weeks later to the same awful disease you might not understand how in that moment the last thing you care about is wildlife.

I say that as a wildlife lover. My husband does a lot for wildlife and hate balloon releases but even he couldn't deny the children that. It was the only way they thought they could get a message to their dad. They didn't get to tell him they loved him because he died the day before what they thought would be the last time they see him. They wanted to tell him by writing a message in a balloon.

If people want to judge me for that then they can fuck off. Wildlife at that point did not cross my mind. Giving them some comfort was the only thing I cared about and I make no apologies for being selfish. I wanted to ease their pain for a few seconds.

That said, a few posters were lovely and pointed me in the direction of environmental friendly balloons and we will only use them from now on. Although my children have got over the idea that he can read messages now anyway.

By all means educate people kindly. Do not snark at them and call them names because you sound like an arse. There are ways of educating people which don't include being a bitch to people who let off balloons because they wanted to give grieving children a bit of comfort.

Some posters on this thread have done just that without insulting others. Others should try it sometime.

to all those hurt by this thread.

Piper that is such a lovely idea :)

Wouldn't it be better if scientists worked on a way to work MRI scans without the use of helium.

I think on a scale of "problems to solve", finding a way to honour lost loved ones without helium balloons, as people have done for millennia, is probably a lot easier and cheaper to solve that devoting god knows how many tens of millions to making a useful bit of diagnostic kit obsolete.

but if releasing a balloon helps siblings then I have no problem with it

What about the other people it causes harm to? Don't they count?

The amount of harm we cause wildlife is crazy.

Driving for instance.

All those roads built harmed wildlife

Owning cats- I hope none of you have cats who go outside to kill birds and bird nests

Feeding birds at the park can cause 'angel wing'

Killing spiders is fine according to a lot of MN threads, but they are little and less important

I could go on and on. We all do things that harm wildlife and nature. Humans have ruined so much wildlife.

Unless you are squeaky clean (which none of us are) it's a bit hypocritical to judge people who release balloons once in a while.

I'm not sure about the MRI and helium thing. I thought they were different types of helium?

I agree that we should lessen the impact where we can and environmental balloons is an easy way to do that, but the judgey people make me laugh, like they don't do something every day to harm wildlife in some form.

Helium for balloons is not the same as pure helium used for medical purposes. It's important to be aware that there is a distinction between pure, liquid helium and impure, gaseous helium.

Helium suppliers prioritise supplies of pure, liquid helium for critical medical uses e.g. MRI scanners in hospitals, ensuring that they can remain fully operational.

Helium for balloons is a different product - it is impure and gaseous and recovered as a by-product of supplying liquid helium for the MRI market

www.b-loony.co.uk/balloons/balloon-gas/

That's as maybe, but should we go out of our way to harm wildlife and the environment when it's totally unnecessary?

I'm not sure about the MRI and helium thing. I thought they were different types of helium?

No, they are the same, alas - although the balloon manufacturers have done their very best to convince people that this is not the case. helium is an element - it isn't something that can be synthesised once it's all gone.

On the harm we all cause to wildlife, etc - although wildlife isn't my primary concern in this, it's an odd argument which says that because we don't do everything right, we shouldn't try to do something right.

Of course not. But many of us do things which are unnecessary.

It's pretty unnecessary to have cats.

I have been told I am cruel for keeping them indoors because a cat should be allowed to go outside and kill what the fuck it wants.

I am sure there is at least one person who has been harsh to balloon releasers who either owns a cat, feed ducks at the park, drives somewhere when they could walk and so on. Balloons are always mentioned on MN about the harm they cause but you rarely see other human behaviours we all do under the spotlight.

Before you judge make sure you are squeaky clean yourselves. Nothing wrong with pointing out that balloons are harmful but when you come on and judge others for it in a harsh way please make sure you never, ever do anything that harms wildlife yourself.

U2HasTheEdge that link is from a balloon seller, who I am sure has no ulteria motive at all to convince people that there are two different types of helium, an element...

I am a big believer in doing what we can and to lessen our impact.

I just don't believe that people should come on and be arseholes to someone who let off a balloon to help their grieving children when those posters most likely do unnecessary things which harms wildlife just as much.

It does need pointing out that balloon releases are harmful, but there are ways of doing that.

Ok Archery

It was the first link I came across

I won't be letting them off anymore anyway. It was something I did at the worst of their grief but not something I have done before or will do again.

I have lost a child. My daughter has lost a sibling. I know the pain, I know the desire to help your children and sense of inadequacy in the face of their grief.

I also keep horses - indeed my lovely mare helps pull me through, giving me strength to parent my surviving child.

Please, please do not release helium balloons for any reason. That animal that is the collateral damage to your balloon release may be someone else's lifeline. The risk of damage to animals and unnecessary death and suffering far far out weights any crumb of comfort they may give.

Nothing really helps immense grief anyway, so we may as well be kind to our fellow creatures in our suffering.

Leaves/rush boats on a stream is a lovely idea as an alternative.

Wouldn't it be better if scientists worked on a way to work MRI scans without the use of helium

There are systems in development for radically decreasing the amount of helium required to keep MRI magnets cool. However, my understanding (happy to be corrected) is that we can't eliminate helium use altogether because there's simply no other way to achieve temperatures below 7 Kelvins (-266 degrees C).

But "pointing out that helium balloons are harmful" =/= "being harsh to balloon-releasers".

When I am told that something I am doing is harmful to others, then I will check to see if that's true, then if there is any reasonable way I can stop doing it, or lessen the impact, I will do so. Sometimes there are compromises in order to be able to live in the modern world, eg I will still take a bus or a train, though I deliberately choose not to drive for environmental reasons, as for school, work, etc some form of transport is still necessary. Releasing a helium balloon is nice, but it's never necessary.

If someone knows that what they are doing is totally unnecessary, and that there are alternatives, and they continue to do it anyway despite knowing that it harms others, then yes, I will judge them.

whatthese that's a really nice way of putting it.

No nasty judgments, just facts.

I don't think anyone disagrees with it, but some of the earlier posts were just harsh for the sake of being harsh.

I am sorry for your loss

I like the idea of rush boats, too. I will have a look to see if anyone does a "thing you can float on the river without polluting it or strangling the fish" option, or if we have to do it ourselves, and have the beginnings of a lovely, comforting, environmentally-sound cottage industry here...

Archery I'm with your argument all the way but this is jarring me, sorry....

^helium is an element - it isn't something that can be synthesised once it's all gone.

It suggests that we can't synthesise elements, which isn't true. Of course, helium is one of the ones we can't synthesise (as well as the long elusive alchemist's gold).

I don't know that you meant that - I thought I'd add this pot just to clarify for others.

We are best off thinking of helium as akin to a fossil fuel. It takes bazillions of years to build up reserves, and only a few lifetimes to use it all it up. We might find ways of extracting it more efficiently to stretch the resource. We might find ways to minimise its use. It's a finite resource, and we need for lots of very useful things like stopping the LHC blowing up

balloonsblow.org/environmentally-friendly-alternatives/

There are some nice ideas here