Our country should invest in clean, nuclear power. Good grief.

There must be a better way!

It does seem like we are still functioning in the 19th century in this industry. It's mind-boggling that we haven't improved safety (and efficiency and such) in so long.

Money, money, money.

Profits over people and the environment.

Lobbyists! Politicians!

Money, money, money!

And also:
"Jeff Goodell, author of the book "Big Coal," says last year, miners pulled 1.1 billion tons of coal from the ground. "The two things that are really influencing this are the rise of natural gas prices and the political push for energy independence."

Coal is the number one source of energy in the United States, powering most electrical appliances -- from portable music players to refrigerators. In fact, 50 percent of U.S. electricity comes from coal -- nearly 20 pounds each day for every American. "

This is very sad indeed, and how many more incidents such as this last one and ones previous need to happen before a change is made..

Sadly, there is little I can add to what RB said. Until such time as the cost of paying off dead workers families cost more than modernization, we will continue down this path.

This is still considered "Acceptable" so long as the cost of a human life doesn't affect the earnings per share of the stock.

Why can't more of the process be automated, though?

I thought the same thing now, and when those men were trapped in th Pa. mine a few years ago. With all the modern advanes it is hard to believe that people have to put themselves in such a gangerous situation. That there is not a mechanical alternative. I am surre it relates back to money.

Being a geologist, I know a little about this. MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) is the federal agency in chrage of mine safety. They are FAR stricter than OSHA. Mines in America are extremely safe but dangerous places.

Much of the underground mining is done to protect the environment and/or there is no better way to get to the wanted material. You may look up the terms "mountain top mining" on Google for a comparison to poor alternatives.

As far as automation goes, they use extremely sophisticated equipment for mining, but it requires operators to be present.

Mines are required to have an operation and reclamation plan before they can ever even open. Without mining, our lives would be significantly different. Almost everything in your house that is not wood was extracted from the ground in some way.

I was just talking about this...I can't remember EVER hearing about mining accidents before the one in West VA a couple years ago and NOW?? it's front page news all the time. Is it something that never used to get reported? Or is it happening way too frequently now? Either way, my prayers are with those men and their familes and the rescue teams.

Unfortunately, Diamond and Coal have to be mined the old fashioned way. It should make us reflect on the risk people take every day to make our life easier.

I live in Indiana and moved here from Utah, it does seem to be far too common all over the place.

We heard the news here in Australia about your poor miners. We had our own similar tragedy last year also. I really feel for the families of those poor miners :(

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