Chinese mine explosion toll doubles

Chinese mine explosion toll doubles. ABC News Online

I feel so sad for these miners. It's a hard,relentless life ,mines have always collapsed , miners have always been lost and the search for those still in the mines has always been heartbreaking. Most western countries have abandoned coal mining but I suppose there are too many Chinese for them to go without mining for coal. We need to get better energy sources and although the debate on nuclear energy still continues, we still need a viable alternative to fossil fuels for heating and power generation. European countries had mines collapsing at the turn of the last century and before and Emile Zola's account of mining communities in Germinal is still a very powerful and moving novel. Truly, we need to find another way.