All hail mighty coal

Is it just me, or does the coal mining industry seem to be stuck in the 1950's? I understand that the nature of digging a massive mine into rock and pulling out tons of coal is dangerous by its very nature, but while manufacturing in the US has become a very safe and highly automated process, coal mining has not come up to par with the safety standards held in other industries.

The recent mine explosion in West Virginia has reminded me of this fact again. In 2006 the federal government passed new regulations on mining safety in the US, but last year, only 1 in 10 mines across the country had made the upgrades to conform to these standards. I'm not a huge fan of coal as a power source to begin with. It's environmentally one of the more destructive forms of energy production, and the working conditions for miners and coal power plant workers are far less than ideal in most of the country, but I am a realist. I understand that our infrastructure is based on coal in much of the country, but companies need to be held accountable for the safety of their workers. Many times a violation of federal safety standards that leads to an accident will cost the company some fines, but the fines are often less financially detrimental to the company than upgrading the mine's safety.

It is likely that we will be moving away from coal within my lifetime as supplies diminish and nuclear energy becomes more prevalent, but respect for human life is a huge issue here. Federal regulators and companies themselves should not turn their back on this accident.