1st Prize: $1,500 Scholarship

2nd Prize: $1,000 Scholarship

3rd Prize: $500 Scholarship

Essay Topic: The Mining Dilemma

The Sweetums Coal Mine in West Virginia is one of the nation’s largest coal mines, helping to produce the 1 billion tons of coal the United States uses to supply approximately 37% of its energy needs.  Coal mining is a dangerous business and the miners are well paid for the risks they take, with the average worker earning about $60,000/year.  One of the main hazards is the amount of coal dust in the air, which can ignite and cause a massive explosion.

One afternoon, the town of Sweetums is rocked by just such an explosion.  People run to the mine from all over town to find out what happened.  As men stream out of the mine, three things become clear:  1) there was a huge explosion deep in the mine, 2) the shaft near the explosion has collapsed, preventing anyone from going beyond that point, and 3) 7 miners are unaccounted for.   Over the next 24 hours, mine experts from across the country assemble in Sweetums to discuss what should be done.  From the location of the explosion, the shape of the mine shaft in that area, and the assignments of the missing men, it seems possible that some of them survived the initial explosion.  If so, however, they are now trapped almost 1,000 feet under the Earth with a dwindling oxygen supply.   Depending on where they are located, the trapped miners might be able to access emergency supplies stored in the mine and could have as much as two weeks worth of oxygen, food and water.

The townsfolk are extremely upset with the mining company, pointing out that the last safety inspection by the government cited them for several violations of rules designed to minimize the risks of this type of explosion, but people are generally willing to leave the finger pointing for later and concentrate on saving the men.

The cave-in is a large one and initial attempts to contact the men have been unsuccessful, perhaps because there is so much rock in between the rescuers and the area in which the miners are trapped, perhaps because there is nobody alive to answer.  Experts are extremely concerned about the stability of the rock in the area around the collapse and say it would be too dangerous to try clearing the original shaft.  They determine the only way to proceed is to first drill a small hole into the area where the miners are most likely to be trapped.   Equipment is brought in and after two days, the hole is drilled, but there is no contact.  Another spot is chosen and another hole is drilled into a different area, taking another 2 days.  Again there is no contact, but when a microphone is lowered into the hole, rescuers think they hear sounds of breathing and occasional movement.  The order goes out for more equipment to enlarge this hole and make an attempt to rescue anyone down there.

Another two days go by before the new equipment arrives and in that time the noises from the hole become few and far between.  There is now debate among the rescuers as to how to interpret the noises.  Some maintain it is clear evidence the miners are still alive, but others argue it might just be rock settling after the explosion.  During one such debate, on the sixth day, the president of Sweetums Mining enters the room and says he is thinking about shutting down the rescue.  He wants to simply seal the holes, cease operations in this area of the mine, and make it a memorial to the lost miners.  He reasons as follows:

1) The likelihood that the miners are still alive is very small.

2) If a rescue is attempted, several people will have to go down the newly excavated hole, which would be very dangerous. Although there is no shortage of volunteers, no one wants to see more men lost, as happened last year at a nearby mine in much the same situation.

3) $1 million has already been spent drilling the existing holes.  Drilling a hole large enough to permit entry or to extricate the miners will cost another $3-4 million and take at least a week.

4) By that time, the miners, even if they are alive now, will almost certainly have perished.

5) The company is in a precarious financial situation and such a huge expense might force them to close their doors. Since 80% of the working age people in town work for the mine in some capacity, this would affect thousands of people.

Instructions are available here:

Essays should be submitted in both hard copy and electronic form (on a CD, no flash drives please). The hard copy and the electronic copy should be delivered to the Department of Philosophy and Religion, 126 Hardin Hall.  Early submissions are welcome.  The deadline for submission is 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  Winners will be notified at the end of March 2012.

Essays must be typed (double-spaced) using a twelve-point font.  The title page should include the author’s name and contact information (this includes full name, email, mailing address, phone number), but the text of the paper should be suitable for blind review. Essays must not exceed 1,500 words (a word count should be included on the title page; references and citations should not be included in the word count).

The deadline for submissions is

4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Winners will be notified at the end of March 2012

Instructions are available here:

The Rutland Institute for Ethics  is committed to

Clemson University’s Academic integrity policies:

For additional information send email queries to DJONES1@clemson.edu.