A strange thing is happening that is related to the environment and working in my industry. There is a worldwide shortage of acetonitrile. This is a chemical that's widely used in quality control test methods for pharmaceutical products. This chemical isn't specifically produced, it's a by-product from the manufacturing process for industrial resins, plastics, and car parts. Due to the economic downturn for the automotive industry, they aren't producing a lot of car seats, which in turn doesn't produce a lot of acetonitrile. Also, there was one factory in Texas that produced this chemical that was affected by Hurricane Ike. And China decided to shut down a lot of its manufacturing facilities before the Beijing Olympics to improve air quality. So now the price for this chemical has shot through the roof, and everyone's trying to get their hands on some. At the laboratory where we test some of our products, we were in some serious trouble at the beginning of the year. But thanks to a well-connected buyer in my group and our CFO's credit card, we managed to score ourselves a supply. We joked that it had all the characteristics of a black market deal. How sad would that be...
In other similar news, here's something really sad to think about: our planet is running out of helium. Helium is also extensively used in lab testing, specifically gas chromatography. Since it's just about the most inert element in existence, it's good to use because it won't react with anything. I think I read that the helium supply in North America will run out by 2035. The only other places in the world where you can get it are Russia and Algeria. Synthesizing it would take ridiculous amounts of time and energy. So unless we can find a way to mine this stuff from the sun, we won't be singing about the Lollypop Guild anymore.
"When are you going to come down? When are you going to land? I should have stayed on the farm, I should have listened to my old man"
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