Exactly. It's hard to grasp, but most other elements have gradual scaling solutions, i.e. worst case we have to resort to some more expansive extraction method.

Exactly. It's hard to grasp, but most other elements have gradual scaling solutions, i.e. worst case we have to resort to some more expansive extraction method. With helium this scaling is abrupt: reserves become orders of magnitude more expansive. It makes total sense to let the market create a gradual scaling of prices in anticipation for depletion. Basically all other elements we can do some recycling and recapturing somehow; once leaked helium is just gone forever.