Years and years ago, my science classes used to release helium balloons with post cards attached - to explore wind currents and weather system movement. Findings: 1) When we got the cards back, and we got many over the years, the balloons were often shredded, leading us to think that something in the air degraded them. We never were able to pursue that issue, despite several good hypotheses. 2) We launched from the midwest and the farthest return came from Maryland. Most came from within a couple hundred miles. Hence, I’m skeptical of the Finland report. However, one spring break after several classes launched, one colleague of mine went to the Virgin Islands on vacation. She had brought a phony card with her and mailed it from there. Another colleague got the card and went nuts with excitement. We just about burst from holding in laughter.
(I suppose we were littering in a sense. But I think that the educational and fun benefits outweighed the moral opprobrium against the activity.)
Regarding the shredding. Please go to this collection of photographs and look past the first 30 or so images. The next 30 images are of shredded latex balloons found on a beach after washing ashore. If these shapes looks familiar, it could be that this shredding is a function of ascent to high altitude. Sunlight, temperature, and low pressure may be the cause of the distinct shredding observed. I can’t replicate this shredding by over inflating a latex balloon at sea level.
I agree with you that there are many more serious problems but that doesn’t mean we should allow littering or not worry about it. It is a simple thing to not do it.
Eew. I hate the pictures, but, yes, that’s very similar to the type of shredding we found. It looked nothing like what happens to balloons here on the ground, so we guessed that it might have had something to do with the nature of the atmosphere way up there, the sunlight, and/or the effects of bursting that high up. When I presented at a couple of conferences, someone suggested that the ozone layer may have been at work. I doubt that they would have risen anywhere near that, but, who knows?