How did Australia's coal industry change over time?
The coal fed Japan's growing steel industry, and in the decades of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, change was afoot. Switching from a majority of underground to open-cut mines in New South Wales and Queensland saw production rapidly increase and today, 80 per cent of Australia's coal mines are open cut. Leigh Creek mine workers underground in 1910. (
Where is Austria’s coal-fired power plant?
The plant, 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Vienna, was shut two years ago as Austria became only the second European country to eliminate coal entirely from its electricity grid.
What was the result of the National Coal Strike of 1912?
The national coal strike of 1912 was the first national strike by coal miners in Britain. Its main goal of securing a minimum wage. After a million men had walked out for 37 days the government intervened and ended the strike by passing a minimum wage law.
When were the first coalfields opened in Germany?
In Germany (Prussia), the Ruhr Area coalfields opened in the 1830s. Railroads were built around 1850 and numerous small industrial centres sprang up, focused on ironworks, using local coal. The average output of a mine in 1850 was about 8,500 short tons; its employment about 64.
How much coal does Austria use?
Coal Consumption in Austria Austria consumes 444,336 cubic feet of Coal per capita every year (based on the 2016 population of 8,747,301 people), or 1,217 cubic feet per capita per day.
What was coal first used for?
The earliest known use of coal in the Americas was by the Aztecs who used coal for fuel and jet (a type of lignite) for ornaments.
Does Austria have coal mines?
Austria's last coal plant closes, increasing European coal phase-out momentum. BERLIN, 17 April 2020 – Austria has become the second European country to totally eliminate coal from electricity production, with its last coal power plant, Verbund's Mellach, permanently closing today.
What was coal used for in ww1?
Coal was critical to the war effort. As one of the largest raw material industries, coal was used to power locomotives; produce iron, steel, and electricity; and keep Americans' homes heated.
What are the benefits of coal?
Advantages of CoalHuge Global Reserves.Not an Intermittent Energy Source.Reliable Fuel.Inexpensive Energy Source.Independent of the Weather.Plenty of Applications.Compatible With Other Energy Sources.Creates Jobs.More items...•
Which country used coal first?
ChinaThe earliest references of coal mining come from China with a coal mine being opened over 3,000 years ago. By 200BC the Chinese were using coal for heat and as a trading commodity. It was also vital to China's metallurgy industry that first began to flourish around 120BC.
Will Europe go back to coal?
The country is set to phase out coal by 2038, a goal that's still in place. Experts say the country's coalition government, which includes a Green party, is trying to buy time with coal so that it can come up with a more sustainable long-term solution.
Where does EU get coal?
Russia Is Europe's Biggest Source of Coal A line chart showing the amount of solid fossil fuels imported to the EU from Russia, the US, Australia, Poland and Colombia from 2007 to 2020, in millions of tons. Russia is the biggest importer with 44 million tons of coal in 2020.
Is Europe using coal?
REPLACING RUSSIA Russia supplies 70% of all Europe's thermal coal imports, which is used in power generation, but that supply has to be replaced from mid-August when an EU ban on Russian coal imports comes into force.
Why was coal important to the Industrial Revolution?
Coal was king of the British Industrial Revolution. As coke, it provided an efficient fuel for reliably turning iron ore into iron. Cheap iron built the famous bridge across the River Severn at Ironbridge Gorge in 1781. And the machinery that filled the new factories of the industrial age was built from it.
Why did the coal mining industry suffer?
Why did the coal mining industry suffer? New forms of energy created competition. Why did businesses fall after housing? Manufactured products that were used in houses were no longer bought and other house-related services.
Who discovered coal first in the world?
Coal was one of man's earliest sources of heat and light. The Chinese were known to have used it more than 3,000 years ago. The first recorded discovery of coal in this country was by French explorers on the Illinois River in 1679, and the earliest recorded commercial mining occurred near Richmond, Virginia, in 1748.
When did coal first start being used?
Coal was one of man's earliest sources of heat and light. The Chinese were known to have used it more than 3,000 years ago. The first recorded discovery of coal in this country was by French explorers on the Illinois River in 1679, and the earliest recorded commercial mining occurred near Richmond, Virginia, in 1748.
What was coal used for before the Industrial Revolution?
The most visible uses of coal in the United States were to manufacture iron, steam engines, and railroads. Americans had made iron before coal using charcoal—wood burned in the absence of oxygen. But charcoal required lots of wood, and this limited its total supply.
When did humans first burn coal?
3500 years agoAnd perhaps it always did: it seems coal was routinely burned 3500 years ago in what is now China – the earliest evidence we have for the practice.
What was coal used for in the 1900s?
When America entered the 1900s, coal was the energy mainstay for the nation's businesses and industries. Coal stayed America's number one energy source until the demand for petroleum products pushed petroleum to the front. Automobiles needed gasoline. Trains switched from coal power to diesel fuel.
Which countries were the first to use coal?
Figure 5 repeats the analysis for three groups of countries: the United Kingdom, where the new coal-using technologies first originated; Belgium, France and Germany, the earliest imitators; and the rest of Europe. As can be seen, in the UK, proximity to coal became associated with rapid growth in the late eighteenth century; in Belgium, France and Germany the association emerged in the early nineteenth century; while elsewhere it only became discernible in the late nineteenth century. The raw data thus support the accounts of technological diffusion given in such standard sources as Tann and Breckin ( 1978 ), and suggest that proximity to coal became relevant for economic growth once the technological environment had changed.
Where was coal used in the 19th century?
By the middle of the 19th century, both coke-smelting and steam engines were being used in all the coalfields of northern France, Belgium and western Germany (Wrigley, 1961, p. 4). Coal was bulky, heavy and costly to transport.
Why did Ireland not industrialize?
204–8) argues that local supplies of coal in Belgium cannot explain why it industrialised, while the Netherlands did not: the Dutch could import coal by sea, and use both peat and wind. In a similar vein, he dismisses the argument that pre-Famine Ireland did not industrialise because of a lack of suitable coal deposits (Mokyr, 1983, pp. 152–8). Ireland imported coal from Britain, with the result that its coal prices were between 100% and 150% higher; fuel costs in the ‘nonmetallurgical industries’ were at most 4% of total costs. The lack of suitable local coal supplies thus increased Irish costs by at most 10% relative to British costs, and by less once substitution possibilities are taken into account. Lower Irish wages, he argues, should have more than compensated for this.
Why are population levels indexed at 1750?
We present population levels indexed at 1750 due to our sample being unbalanced. Population levels for each period are calculated by applying population growth rates forwards and back in time from 1750. Population growth rates are calculated for centuries (prior to 1700) or half-centuries (after 1700) using the entire (unbalanced) sample of city sizes; we use unweighted average growth rates.
What was the use of coal during the Industrial Revolution?
22). What changed during the Industrial Revolution was primarily the use of coal in the iron and steel industry and the introduction of the steam engine.
When was iron ore discovered?
In 1709 Abraham Darby discovered how to smelt iron ore using coke (a purified form of coal) rather than charcoal as a fuel, and the process started becoming widespread in Britain in the second half of the century. In the long run this permitted a vast expansion of the industry. As Wrigley ( 1988, p.
When did coal start to matter?
If the introduction of new coal-using technologies meant that growth became more coal-dependent during the Industrial Revolution then you would expect that coal would have started to matter for city growth at some point in the late eighteenth century or nineteenth century. Alternatively, given that coal was used for a variety of purposes prior to the eighteenth century, proximity to it may have mattered for city growth even earlier. And a third possibility is that it never really mattered at all. In the following section we outline the data that we will use to distinguish between these alternative hypotheses.
Where was coal used in the Aboriginal people?
Evidence of coal use has been found in beach and dune middens in Lake Macquarie at Swansea Heads and Ham's Beach, and on the Central Coast at Mooney Beach. It shows that coal was used by the Aboriginal people for cooking fish, shellfish and abalone. Dating of the occupation level of a beach midden at Swansea found that coal was used well over one thousand years ago (Stockton 23). The women of the Awabakal tribe fished with hand lines from canoes with a small fire burning on a clay pad in the canoe. Percy Haslam in his lecture on the Awabakal people in 1981 described the canoes and their fires: "Bark canoes made from a single flawless sheet of stringy bark, were used to criss-cross Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie and other waterways in the region. There was always a characteristic clay mound, often in the stern, where a small fire was kept burning while the canoes were in use." Threlkeld noted that the fires were used not only to warm hands and feet, but principally used to roast bait of either cockles, fish or flesh from the star. The women also cooked fresh fish whenever they were hungry (Ray n.pag.).
What did the Awabakal people use coal for?
The Awabakal people of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle used coal for fire to prepare food and references to coal were made in their myths and legends. The territory occupied by the Awabakal people encompassed Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast to Wyong, the coalfields area and the Watagan Mountains to Wollombi, an estimated area of 1800km2 (Maynard 13). In the Awabakal language the word for coal was "nikkin" and Lake Macquarie was called Nik-kin-ba meaning "the place of coal" (Gunson 64).
What was the cause of the Anthracite coal strike?
The groundwork for the 1900 anthracite coal strike was laid by the unexpected results of strikes in the bituminous or soft coalfields in 1897. A depression in 1893 forced down wages and, according to a Pennsylvania legislative committee, many miners lived "like sheep in shambles." A spontaneous uprising had forced many mine owners to sign a contract with the United Mine Workers. Both sides struck a bonanza as operators raised both wages and prices. Coal companies prospered, and union membership soared from 10,000 to 115,000. 8
What was the turning point in the coal strike?
The Coal Strike of 1902: Turning Point in U.S. Policy. The Federal Government, with the Commissioner of Labor in a fact finding role , acted as a 'neutral' for the first time in contributing to settlement of the bitter coal strike. On Friday, October 3, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt called a precedent-shattering meeting at ...
How long did the anthracite strike last?
On October 23, 1902, the 163-day anthracite coal strike ended. The following morning President Roosevelt met briefly with the commissioners and asked them to try to establish good relations between the employers and the workers in the anthracite fields. The commissioners refused to comment to reporters, and then met for almost 2 hours at Wright's office, one block from the White House. There photographers took pictures, and the room became so saturated with smoke from their flash powder it had to be aired out. After organizing and scheduling future sessions, the commissioners lunched with the President, and then began their arduous task of settling the strike. 49
Why is anthracite coal used as a heating fuel?
Anthracite coal, because it burned cleaner than soft coal, had become the main heating fuel in many Eastern cities. Rivalry for control of the industry led to over expansion, violent business fluctuations, and eventually control by a few large independent mine owners, coal railroads, and bankers.
How long did the commissioners spend touring the coal regions?
Before listening to testimony, the commissioners spent a week touring the coal regions. They rejected the offer of the coal operators for a special train and visited mines selected jointly by the opposing parties. They saw first hand the conditions under which miners lived and labored.
How many men were on the coal commission?
In addition they limited the makeup of the commission to five men — a military engineer, a mining engineer, a judge, an expert in the coal business, and an "eminent sociologist.". Mitchell agreed that he would not force the issue of union recognition but he balked at the effort to "pack" the commission.
When did the miners strike?
The miners struck on May 12, 1902. There was hope for a settlement as long as firemen, engineers, and pumpmen remained at work. But when these maintenance crews walked out on June 2, both sides settled down for a long and bitter fight. Commissioner of Labor Carroll D. Wright wrote that of 147,000 strikers, 30,000 soon left the region, and of these 8,000 to 10,000 returned to Europe. 16 Although Mitchell exhorted the miners to strike peaceably, strikers attacked scabs, terrorized their families, and lashed out at private police forces and armed guards hired by mine owners . 17
When did the South Wales Valleys coal mine close?
In 2008, the South Wales Valleys last deep pit mine closed with the loss of 120 jobs. The coal was exhausted. British coal mines employed only 4,000 workers at 30 locations in 2013, extracting 13 million tonnes of coal.
Why did British coal become privatized?
Because of exhausted seams and high prices the mining industry disappeared almost completely, despite the militant protests of some miners.
What was the political view of coal miners after the 19th century?
After the late 19th century coal miners in many countries were a frequent presence in industrial disputes with both the management and government. Coal miners' politics, while complex, have occasionally been radical, with a frequent leaning towards far-left political views.
What political party did coal miners belong to?
Coal miners formed the core of the political left wing of the Labour Party and the British Communist party . In Germany, the coal miners demonstrated their militancy by large-scale strikes in 1889, 1905 and 1912. However, in political terms the German miners were middle-of-the-road and not especially radical.
What is the date of coal miners day?
In France, on the other hand, coal miners have been much more conservative. In India, Coal Miners Day is celebrated on May 4.
Why are coal miners important?
People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings . Owing to coal's strategic role as a primary fuel, coal miners have figured strongly in labour and political movements since that time. After the late 19th century coal miners in many countries were a frequent presence in industrial disputes with both the management and government. Coal miners' politics, while complex, have occasionally been radical, with a frequent leaning towards far-left political views. A number of far-left political movements have had the support of both coal miners themselves and their trade unions, particularly in Great Britain. In France, on the other hand, coal miners have been much more conservative. In India, Coal Miners Day is celebrated on May 4.
How often did British miners strike?
The statistics show that from 1889 to 1921 British miners struck between 2 and 3 times more frequently than any other group of workers. Some isolated coal fields had long traditions of militancy and violence; those in Scotland were especially strike-prone.
How has coal mining changed Australia's economy?
Coal mining has played a pivotal part in Australia's economy, and has changed dramatically over 200 years. (. Hundreds of years ago, long before the arrival of the First Fleet, the First Nation's Awabakal people of Lake Macquarie cooked their food and warmed themselves by fires fuelled by chunks of coal.
When did Australia start exporting coal?
Exports started in earnest from Newcastle around the year 1800, and by 1901 Australia was exporting several million tonnes. But it was after World War II, and as ABC Rural first hit the airwaves, that coal production exploded, as the Bowen Basin in Queensland opened up. The coal fed Japan's growing steel industry, and in the decades of the 1950s, ...
What is coal used for?
Australia mines both thermal coal (used for electricity) and metallurgical or coking coal (used to make iron and steel)
Where did the colonists export their first shipload of coal?
Nor could fleeing convicts from the fledgling penal colony in 1791, who found coal on the beach at Newcastle, imagine that arriving colonists would soon export a shipload — their first export from Australia — to India in trade for grains.
Is coal a part of Australia's economy?
Coal has played a vital part in Australia's economy since white settlement. (. Supplied: Griffin Coal Mining. ) " [Just] because I'm a coal miner, that doesn't divorce me from caring about our natural environment and our natural heritage," Mr Howard said.
Who thinks about the future of coal?
The future of coal is something miner Grant Howard thinks of often.
Does Mr Randel think Australia should forget the pivotal role coal has played in its development?
But despite the product losing its sheen, Mr Randel does not think Australia should forget the pivotal part coal has played in its development.
How does coal impact the hydrosphere?
Mining operations can negatively impact water supplies, often with long-lasting effects. The fundamental issue involves contamination of nearby rivers, lakes, and aquifers by what comes out of a coal mine —usually highly acidic water containing heavy metals like arsenic, copper, and lead.
How does coal affect the biosphere?
Pollutes the air with dust. This affects wildlife and creates poor air quality in the area. When coal is burned it releases many harmful chemicals into the air, such as methane (greenhouse gas) and contributes to global warming.
How does coal mining affect the atmosphere?
Several principal emissions result from coal combustion: Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to smog and respiratory illnesses. Particulates, which contribute to smog, haze, and respiratory illnesses and lung disease.
How are humans negatively affecting coal?
People who are indirectly exposed to coal may be affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and respiratory infection. These diseases may occur due to inhalation of a diversity of environmental air pollutants.
How does mining impact the atmosphere?
Air Quality. Hundreds of tons of rock are unearthed, moved, and crushed in mining operations significantly increasing the amount of dust and particulates in the air. In addition, mine tailings, which may contain finely ground and even toxic waste, can become airborne. This air pollution can directly affect human health …
Why is coal so bad for the environment?
The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, increasing levels of CO2 and other gasses, trapping heat, and contributing to global climate change. Coal combustion releases the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) during combustion.
What is an interesting fact about coal?
The United States has more coal than any other fossil fuel resource. Coal is the second most consumed fossil fuel in the world, behind petroleum, (which includes liquids from biomass, crude oil, coal, and natural gas). Coal is formed from plant matter that decayed in swamps and bogs millions of years ago.
Which country ceded some strategic territory to Austria-Hungary?
On the other hand, by 1918 the Monarchy’s war aims had been fulfilled: Serbia and Russia had been crushed, Romania had ceded some strategic territory (the Iron Gates) to Austria-Hungary and agreed to border rectifications, and Austria-Hungary still had a say in the future of Poland.
What factors influenced Austria-Hungary's outlook in 1914?
6 The situation regarding the ‘nationality question’ as a factor influencing Austria-Hungary’s outlook in 1914 has also continued to produce a large literature. [13] [13] Among key works are Gary B. Cohen, ‘Nationalist Politics and… The outcome of all these works is a new stress on the loyalty of the nationalities and the relative lack of crisis connected with the nationality question. All sorts of factors are now highlighted ranging from political apathy and compromise through ethnic cross-voting, imperial symbolism, military service, primary education and bilingualism to traditional loyalty to Franz Joseph. For the social background to the Austro-Hungarian army specifically, see Alan Sked, ‘Social Life and Legal Constraints: the Habsburg Army, 1890-1918,’ [14] [14] Alan Sked, ‘Social Life and Legal Constraints: the Habsburg… and Christa Hämmerle (ed.), Des Kaisers Knechte. Errinerungen an die Rekrutenzeit im k. (u)k. Heer, 1868-1914 (2012). [15] [15] Christa Hämmerle (ed.), Des Kaisers Knechte. Errinerungen an…
What countries were ignored in the First World War?
15 Western, especially English-language, accounts of the First World War tend to overlook Austria-Hungary, its provinces and the lesser countries of East and South-East Europe. [33] [33] See, for example, Wilhelm Czermak, In deinem Lager war… This tendency is equally evident in the purely military history of the First World War. The Balkan, Italian and Eastern Fronts are usually ignored, or else the Habsburg forces are treated as a minor satellite army of Germany. [34] [34] The 2005 Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the First… Indeed, there is no good book in English on the Habsburg army in the First World War, although Graydon A. Tunstall is expected to publish one next year with Cambridge University Press. Meanwhile, there is Holger A. Herwig, The First World War. Germany and Austria-Hungary, 1914-1918, [35] [35] Allen R. Millet and Williamson Murray, for example, edited a… which, peculiarly, is better on the Austrian home front than on her military record. Probably the best coverage of her war record is to be found in the works of Gunther E. Rothenberg, namely The Army of Francis Joseph (1976) [36] [36] Holger A. Herwig, The First World War. Germany and… and his articles : The Habsburg Army in the First World War, 1914-1918’ [37] [37] E. Rothenberg, The Army of Francis Joseph, West Lafayette, IN:… and ‘The Austro-Hungarian Campaign against Serbia in 1914’. [38] [38] E. Rothenberg, “The Habsburg Army in the First World War,… More recently the literature has been enriched by the works of Graydon A. Tunstall whose books on Planning for War against Russia and Serbia: Austro-Hungarian and German Military Strategies, 1871-1914 (1993), [39] [39] E. Rothenberg, ‘The Austro-Hungarian Campaign against Serbia in… and Blood on the Snow. The Carpathian Winter War of 1915 (2010) [40] [40] Graydon A. Tunstall, Planning for War against Russia and… and articles, [41] [41] Graydon A. Tunstall, Blood on the Snow. The Carpathian Winter… namely ‘The Carpathian Winter Campaign of 1915’ and ‘The Collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1918’, give some indication of the quality to be expected from his forthcoming book on the Austro-Hungarian army, 1914-1918. [42] [42] Graydon A. Tunstall, ‘The Carpathian Winter Campaign of 1915’;… The standard German account by Manfried Rauchensteiner, Der Tod der Doppeladlers. ?sterreich-Ungarn und der Erste Weltkrieg (1993), [43] [43] Recently available, however, are : Mark Thompson, The White… has now been replaced or supplemented by his Der Erste Weltkrieg und das Ende der Habsburgermonarchie, 1914-1918 (2013). [44] [44] Manfried Rauchensteiner, Der Tod der Doppeladlers.… Students should consult its bibliography as well as that in Herwig’s book for the older and more detailed literature. Rauchensteiner should also be supplemented by József Galántai, Hungary in the First World War (1989). [45] [45] Manfried Rauchensteiner, Der Erste Weltkrieg und das Ende der…
What are the main conclusions of the Austria-Hungary war economy?
First, the war effort was sustained into 1918 on the basis of a rapidly decreasing resource base. Constrained by scarcity of input materials and cumulative labour shortages, aggregate output fell continuously over the course of the war. Moreover, the share of war expenditure in real GDP fell from an initial peak of 30 per cent (1914/15) to about 17 per cent in 1917/18. Hence the scale of mobilization, both in absolute terms and relative to the size of the economy, was small to that achieved in major belligerent economies such as the United Kingdom and Germany. Second, the Allied blockade worked and its impact was augmented by a serious lack of foreign exchange: Austria-Hungary’s foreign trade was far too limited to reduce significantly the shortage of essential war materials and foodstuffs. Third, the Empire’s complex macropolitical structure, a legacy of the 1867 constitutional compromise between Austria and Hungary, undermined the efficiency and effectiveness of intra-empire resource allocation and utilisation. Fourth, a small domestic capital market proved incapable of sustaining wartime borrowing at high levels. After a short-lived rise in the initial stages of the war, the debt/GDP ratio remained just above peacetime levels. To the extent that Austria-Hungary did fight the war on the cheap, that was not an outcome of choice, but of necessity in light of inadequate resources. Finally, the persistent and widespread food scarcity and resultant physical exhaustion of both civilian population and the armed forces was a key factor in bringing about the collapse of the Habsburg Empire.”
What are the objections to Wawro's argument?
In any case, there are a host of objections to his arguments. First, the army was in contact with the Russians and did not go over to the enemy. In fact — see below — there is a great deal of mythology about the Czechs who supposedly did desert. Secondly, nothing at all took place in Habsburg ranks to compare with the French mutinies of 1917 or the Russian army’s revolt against its officers in the same year. Instead, despite the many hundreds of thousands lost in 1914 and again in 1915 and 1916, despite the freezing snow and shell shock and all the miseries of war on the Eastern Front, and despite the starvation among the troops on all fronts from 1917, the army fought on. Wawro should read Tunstall’s work on the Carpathian War or the disintegration of the army, or John Schindler’s excellent but unpublished 1994 McMaster’s thesis, A Hopeless Struggle: The Austro-Hungarian Army and Total War, 1914-1918, which concludes (p. 269):
Which part of the Empire experienced occupation in the First World War?
27 The other part of the Empire that experienced occupation in the First World War was Galicia, which twice passed from Austrian to Russian occupation. Slav inhabitants later deemed to have collaborated with the enemy were treated harshly; many were hanged by the Austrians while thousands of locals were forcibly transferred to other areas. The Jews of Galicia and Russian Poland, however, treated Austrian and German troops as liberators, which led to the Russians mistreating them when they retreated. It was very different from the Second World War :
Which country was not annexed by Vienna?
Serbia, Vienna soon agreed, due to the influence of Tisza, the Hungarian premier, was neither to be annexed nor destroyed. Instead, she was to cede territory to Bulgaria, Albania and Greece but pay reparations to Austria-Hungary which would also receive some territory as “strategically important border corrections”.