China faces serious safety issues in the country's coal mines. Tunneling and other accidents reportedly kill more than 5,000 coal miners every year. About 80 percent of China's coal mining-related deaths are attributed to methane gas explosions. China's coal mines releasing methane gas are also responsible for nearly 40 percent of the country's air pollution.

The surprise Northeaster blowing across the eastern United States may have confirmed the final bottom for hibernating natural gas and coalbed methane (CBM) company shares. The winter storm followed this past Tuesday's Energy Information Administration (EIA) Short-Term Energy & Summer Fuels Outlook.