[Moogs]

Am I just imagining things or have there been about 6 or 7 different mining disasters / accidents this year that were bad enough to make the news? Here's the latest:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7100456.stm

My theory: many of these mines were dug out / constructed in the same time period, and we're finding out the hard way that whatever we did in building them, was not enough to stand the test of time WRT the physical pressure, erosion, corrosion and machine vibrations involved over a period of decades. That goes for the US (which had big accidents in W. Virginia and Utah if I remember right), as well as former Soviet republics, S. Africa, etc.

One wonders if a worldwide review is needed.

[Majost]

... and nuclear power is *so* dangerous.

I wonder what the tallies are for deaths mining coal vs. nuclear accidents. It's a shame that coal miners are so often outside of our monkey-sphere and we generally don't care about their deaths.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Majost and nuclear power is *so* dangerous.

Yeah! I know! Geez, you'd think they meltdown and assplode before the foundation is even poured from how people react to them.

[SpecMode]

It's a damned good thing they don't, seeing as I live no more than a football field's length away from two of them.

[Moogs]

And *another* mine accident... F t W

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7101053.stm

Any possibility all these mine collapses have anything to do with increase (or different type than usual) seismic activity? We've been getting a lot of quakes, volcanic activitiy, etc the last couple years. Possible there's some tectonic cause at work here, deep under da eart, mon? Balrog Frodo?