Deb Chachra on Nostr: Newcomen's steam engine (1712) used some of the coal coming out of a mine to power a ...

Newcomen's steam engine (1712) used some of the coal coming out of a mine to power a water pump so that much more coal could be mined. I think of it as the start of the exponential growth that fossil fuels made possible.

So it definitely feels like a landmark that the UK's last coal-powered electricity plant shuts down today: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/30/end-of-an-era-as-britains-last-coal-fired-power-plant-shuts-down