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Balloon boy environmental debrief: choke on that, whales
We do aim to answer the hard questions here, but we also aim to pose the goofy questions (and then kinda-sorta answer them).
Like everybody else in Colorado, my day yesterday was half-consumed by appreciating a beautiful day (and a nice ride to and from work) and half-consumed by HIDING-IN-THE-ATTIC BOY (née Balloon Boy).
Pretty quick with the merchandising, eh, internet?
I was horrified for the poor child I thought to be trapped inside that tinfoil flying contraption.
In retrospect, it’s easier to think about the other elements of that story, like:
- why are we building experimental, inflatable aircraft in our yards?
- why are we sporting bowl haircuts?
- what is the environmental impact of balloons that get turned loose?
I cling to what I can answer, so let’s leave the first two questions for philosophy majors and mountain climbers (“because it was there,” e.g.).
But think about it — we do love our balloons, don’t we? Birthdays, sales, broken arms — there’s a balloon for every occasion except “stop mylar litter.”
Let’s check out Wikipedia for a sec:
There has been some environmental concern over metalized nylon balloons, as they don’t biodegrade or shred as rubber balloons do, and a helium balloon released into the atmosphere can travel a long way before finally bursting or deflating. Release of these types of balloons into the atmosphere is considered harmful to the environment. This type of balloon can also conduct electricity on its surface and released foil balloons can become entangled in power lines and cause power outages.[11]
Released balloons can land almost anywhere, including on nature reserves or other areas where they pose a serious hazard to animals through ingestion or entanglement. Latex balloons are especially dangerous to marine life because latex retains its elasticity for 12 months or more when exposed to sea water rather than air.[12] Because of the harm to wildlife and the effect of litter on the environment, some jurisdictions even legislate to control mass balloon releases. Legislation proposed in Maryland, US, was named after Inky, a pygmy Sperm Whale who needed 6 operations after swallowing debris, the largest piece of which was a mylar balloon.[13][14]
Thinky of Inky! (By the way, Inky survived.)
You saw how fast that balloon was moving! Speeds of around 15 mph, they said. (With no fuel, we might add.) If little Falcon Heene’s phantom flight took that big, weird balloon all that way, imagine how far your “Get Well” balloon will float to ironically choke some wildlife.
Next stop, The Balloon Council (“Affirming America’s Ongoing Love Affair With Balloons”). The Balloon Council adamantly states that “Even one child’s accidental death from choking on a latex balloon is unacceptable.” So there’s that. And here’s what they’ve got to say about balloon releases.
Important facts you should know about latex balloon releases:
- Only latex balloons are used by professionals in mass releases. Industry guidelines require these balloons to be self-tied and have no attached strings or ribbons — each released balloon is 100 percent biodegradable.
- Rarely do released balloons return to the earth’s surface intact. Studies show these balloons usually rise to an altitude of about five miles. At that point, freezing and air pressure causes “brittle fracture” creating spaghetti-like pieces that scatter to the four winds.
- While some balloons don’t reach this altitude, research indicates that in an average 500-balloon release, the unexploded balloon return density is no greater than one per 15 square miles.
- Research shows that regardless of the latex balloon’s ultimate form when it lands, it will decompose, forming a natural soil nutrient at the same rate as that of an oak leaf.
So, pretty much, the latex balloons that land are just collateral damage that are a necessary part of balloon releases, and if you ever think that we’re going to live in a time without balloon releases, I don’t know what to tell you. (That Balloon Council page is really some pretty good reading — some of it seems well-researched, some of it overly defensive, but they do get around to using phrases like “chilling effect.”)
Cynic that I am, I chose to search “eco-friendly balloons” to see just what kind of absurd returns I’d get.
Number one on that list would be these balloons, which are your standard latex balloons, billed as “eco-friendly” and marked up to celebrate Radiologic Technology Week. (The poster is better.)
There was one mention of a paper balloon (coated in PVA), but I didn’t track down any examples of people selling those.
And oddly enough, I did find a company that claims its ribbons are compostable, and that the latex balloons it sells are certified as coming from a sustainable source — and fair-trade.
But most of the mentions of “eco-friendly balloons” just underscore that latex balloons eventually biodegrade.
Of course, mylar balloons don’t do that so well. And they cause power outages when they drift into power lines, according to the City of Glendale (where I grew up!).
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