The questionable necessity of brown coal mining

After the bad accident in which 20 miners died, today, Wednesday, has been declared a day of mourning in Slovakia. The liberal daily Sme questions the necessity of coal mining: "If the Slovakian government weren't so protectionist we would no longer be mining brown coal at all. The tragedy at Handlova further justifies the debate over what use coal production is to us at all. Around 90 percent of the brown coal is used by the thermal power plant in Novaky. This produces roughly seven to eight percent of Slovakia's energy, prompting many to ask the government: do we need these mines at all? Do they justify lost lives and material damage?"

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