The cost of coal

I’m sitting here listening to the latest news about the mining disaster in West Virginia. It could be several days before we learn the fate of the still-missing miners. Twelve deaths had been confirmed at last report.

I find myself wondering why, in this age of engineering marvels and computerized everything, we still have to send human beings deep into the earth to dig coal. Surely by now we should have some wonderful, mechanized, computerized digging machine that could do that very hard, dirty, dangerous work.

We’ve put men on the moon, landed rovers on Mars, done long distance robotic surgery. But we can’t build a machine to mine coal? Or we won’t?

4 thoughts on “The cost of coal

  1. one word: money. We could run our entire country on wind power. But miners make good money. If their jobs are taken you lose southern votes. It’s a sad situation.
    __________
    I’m afraid none of the alternative fuel sources will be developed until corporate America sees them as more profitable than coal or oil.

  2. I don’t think wind is the solution…there are turbines galore here in California in Riverside County…not very effecient and their loud as H..E..double hockey sticks

    forget about the China Syndrom or Chernobyl for a second

    The only viable solution is nuclear…or is it nuculer.
    ___________
    Wind is only part of the solution. So is solar. And definitely nuclear. Biofuels, too. The point is, we needn’t be slaves to coal and oil.

    1. I priced solar for my house last month it would cost me 50 bucks more a month to lease the panels than my current electric bill, or 17k out of pocket to save about $40 a month.

      I haven’t priced my own windmill yet, but I’ll look into it…

      Both wind and solar need to come way down in price.

      The thought that solar has been in the works for more than 30 years and not real steps have been taken lead me to believe that it can only be a small part of the grid and nothing more.

      My suggestion is that we all go to bed when the sun goes down and wake up when it rises.

      now excuse me…I have to go milk the cow!

      🙂

... and that's my two cents