A Miner Problem
Writing by treason on Sunday, 22 of January , 2006 at 9:13 pm
Yesterday, a few hours after we learned that the Thames whale had expired, we heard that two more West Virginians had died in a coal mine. Ironically, the Melville mine. (Think Moby-Dick.)
That brings the total of dead West Virginia miners to fourteen. Locals are, understandably, mourning the loss of friends and relatives, but they are also realistic about the hazards. A retired miner reveals that, after a while, they accept the risks and return to the mines after such disasters. “It’s like accidents in cars — you see them, but you still drive. It’s the same in a coal mine.”
Given the choice, I’d rather be a miner in West Virginia than one in China. Despite government measures to improve work safety — including a national surveillance system to monitor conditions and millions of dollars earmarked to help state-owned and small local mines address gas explosion prevention — mining in China is damn near a death sentence. The average coal miner in China produces a fraction of what a miner in America or South Africa produces, yet the death rate for every 100 tons of Chinese coal is 100 times that of U.S. and 30 times that of South African.
If a Chinese miner doesn’t die in a mine, chances are he’ll drop from pneumoconiosis. According to 2003 statistics, about 600,000 miners to date were suffering from lung disease and the figure was increasing by 70,000 miners every year. Mine accidents in China killed 1,113 people in the first three months of 2004. Where are the Congressional hearings?
Nobody ever said that digging down to the center of the earth was prudent. Perhaps it’s time for another look at nuclear power. Or we can just accept that miners are going to die, no matter how much money is thrown at safety measures. Why? Because it’ll never be safe down there.
Frankly, it’s not that safe up here. Jobs kill people. Driving to jobs kills people. Driving kills people. An 81 year-old man in Michigan just died because a dog, avoiding a car, fell off an overpass and crashed through the old man’s windshield. Deer do that all the time. Why isn’t the government enforcing leash laws? If that dog had been on a leash, attached to its owner, it probably wouldn’t have killed an innocent man. And those deer - just running amok - targeting drivers. And don’t get me started about elk. We were almost killed on a road in Arizona by one of those dangerous elk. Senator McCain, what are you going to do about Arizona’s elk problem? Arizona drivers and innocent tourists just aren’t safe. Should we just boycott this deadly state?
There are hazards everywhere. Americans are at risk. Where is my government-appointed bodyguard? It’s not just West Virginia, either. We have mine safety issues right here in my state. Why, just hours after the report about the Melville miners, I saw a story on the local news that made my blood run cold. A man was walking through one of our national forests with his two Jack Russell terriers. (Actually they’re not called that anymore - the AKC recognizes the breed as the Parson Russell - but everyone knows that’s Jack’d.) Anyway, his dogs were off leash and could have been attacked by marauding deer but, instead, one fell into an abandoned mine. Yes! A mine! The dog fell down, down, down - maybe more than 100 feet! The owner, assuming the worst, fashioned a plaque to remember his little terrier, and called it a day. Well, jackass, don’t you know your breed?
The dog was alive at the bottom of the mine and was rescued after two days. He had surgery, and is recovering. He should be good as new in a few days. Why? Because he’s a freaking Jack Russell terrier! Don’t you remember Mugsy in the Timex ad?
We Americans could learn a thing or two from this breed.
Category: Uncategorized
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Digg -
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
