Keeping Popcorn and Balloons Around Longer

Blog #23

Maria Kozdroy

11-28-14

Disclaimer: this is to be used as a response to class discussion and reading.

Keeping Popcorn and Balloons Around Longer

            Should people stop consuming easy microwavable packages of popcorn?  Should parents stop purchasing balloons filled with helium for their children’s birthday parties?  Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a very harmful chemical released when microwavable popcorn is made, while balloons contain helium which is slowly becoming scarcer.  A solution of how to prevent PFOAs from continuing to enter into people’s bodies and attacking them and polar bears too, and a solution to prevent helium from being completely used up must be outlined.  Additionally, according to Woodhouse in chapter 18 of his STS textbook, “although great improvement surely is possible, it may prove forever impossible to help everyone,” (240), yet if even somewhat achieved, it will greatly help create a positive vision of a saner technofuture.  Small steps that consumers of helium and microwavable popcorn can do today is simply to stop consuming it; however, government cannot fully make this go into effect.  In this blog post, I am going to argue that instead of people ending consumption of microwavable popcorn and helium for balloons, it is up to engineers and scientists to discover new ways and materials that can replace them so that everyone can still be happy and satisfied with this new popcorn and balloon filler. 

            In a previous chapter of Woodhouse’s STS textbook, he mentions how green chemistry needs to be studied and used more often as a replacement to brown chemistry before it becomes even more detrimental.  Additionally, scientists need to find an alternative to microwavable popcorn releasing PFOAs, without taking them away entirely.  Government can attempt to remove production of microwavable popcorn, but this will definitely only create more conflicts for society.  Therefore, scientists should understand to create a safer, greener environment, one that will last longer, a change is needed.  That change may be to add a safe chemical to the popcorn to make sure it does release PFOAs.  Scientists and engineers have the ultimate responsibility in ensuring safety for everyone, as people will continue to consume what is produced without realizing the cons of the product.

            As for helium, it is causing harm in a different way—by using it in balloons for own leisure reasons, it may soon run out and cause problems for doctors because it is used to chill the superconducting magnets in MRI scanners.  Recently, on November 27, 2014, Macy’s once again held its 88^th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.  “Enough to fill 600,000 to 700,000 Mylar party balloons [of helium was used]. But the parade helium is 99.999 percent pure, whereas the stuff in a party balloon might be only 97.5 percent pure.” (Fox News).  This is a lot of helium to be using when the supply of helium is running short!  However, the parade is a tradition.  People will not be pleased if it is stopped, especially those that are still waiting for the right year to go see it in person.  Stores such as Wal-Mart will not stop selling the 97.5 percent pure helium in tanks, and for that reason the company producing the tanks must be advised of the increasing lack of helium in the world.  A new job should be created under the United States Environment Protection Agency and other countries’ EPAs, so that an individual can warn the helium tank producing companies that change is needed.  An incentive from government should then be offered to the company as a way to convert them to begin producing “better helium.”  In order to preserve the helium that is left today and to allow balloons to continue floating, helium producers and scientists need to discover new ways that helium can be sold.  One is to sell it as a mixture with other compounds, as to only include a much smaller percentage of helium.  Therefore, the mixture inserted in a balloon is still lighter than air but not contain pure helium; for example, hydrogen can be used in this mixture.  Upon using much less helium for everyday entertainment purposes, doctors can continue to provide MRI scans for patients in more years to come. 

            Although, helium and microwavable popcorn production cannot be stopped entirely, ways to preserve helium and make microwavable popcorn safer is simple.  It is up to scientists and engineers to solve these problems in order to continue to please everyone that consumes these products already.  If these problems are fixed, then helium can continue to be used for MRI scans with no worries of it running out as soon as it is predicted today and microwavable popcorn can continue being made so as to not produce less fertility in women.  Simply, these everyday products can be enjoyed without the harmful side effects. 

Sources:

Woodhouse, Edward. The Future of Technological Civilization. Chapter 18

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/11/26/few-uplifting-facts-about-helium-which-makes-big-balloons-soar-in-nyc/

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24903034