Doug Brignole's Iron Man Archive

AirGas Declares Force Majeure On Helium Shipments As Qatar Production Collapses Earlier this week we reported that global chip production was in peril as "Qatar Warns Helium Exports Set To Collapse." Best known as the gas that makes party balloons float, helium is far more important as a key input in chipmaking, space rockets and medical imaging. The problem is that Qatar supplies a third of the world’s helium, and the Gulf nation had to halt production after Iranian strikes against the region’s energy producing infrastructure crippled its LNG production which is...

Trump Admin Mandates English-Only Tests For Truckers Seeking Commercial Driver's Licenses Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The federal crackdown on unqualified truckers kicked into a higher gear Friday when the nation’s transportation chief announced that tests for commercial driver’s licenses must be given only in English. A truck drives through the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed the latest policy with a goal of ensuring that truck drivers understand English well enough to read road signs...

DOE Announces $171 Million For Geothermal Expansion The DOE released a Notice of Funding Opportunity offering up to $171.5 million for next-generation geothermal field tests and resource exploration.  The program targets field-scale demonstrations of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for electricity generation, along with drilling to characterize and confirm hydrothermal and next-gen prospects nationwide. The funding splits into two initial open topics: up to $100 million for EGS field tests and $71.5 million for exploratory drilling. Letters of intent are due March 27, with full applications due April 30. The move directly supports...