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QR for handout

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15QD2EONTg5qcLDc1fVK0ZBCzyhK3cYX6kv3KqWZnUso/edit?usp=sharing

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Please add your coal words here.

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station / energy crisis

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station / energy crisis

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Part of a Nottinghamshire coal-burning power plant will stay open for two years beyond its planned closure date after a call from ministers prompted by the UK's energy crisis.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar had initially been pencilled in to shut in 2022, but last year said it would have an initial extension until 31 March 2023.

The planned closure forms part of the government's attempt to remove coal from Britain's energy generation to cut carbon emissions.

One of the four units at Ratcliffe-on-Soar was due to shut in September 2022, but it will now close in line with three other units at the station in September 2024.

Coal-fired plants provided more than 40% of Britain's electricity a decade ago, but that figure had fallen to 1.5% by last year. Ministers have set a goal for Britain to stop using coal altogether.

However, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to countries boycotting Russian gas. Emergency contracts were drawn up between energy suppliers and National Grid to keep stations open as back-up options.

So far none of the coal-fire powered stations asked to stay online this winter as a precaution have been asked to supply power, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The power station and its distinctive eight concrete cooling towers can be seen next to the Midland mainline railway line between London and Leeds.

The news comes as Britain generated a record amount of electricity from wind turbines on Tuesday. National Grid data showed that 21.6GW of electricity was supplied by wind early in the evening, about 50% of the power needed across Britain at 6pm and 6.30pm.

This is a time of day where demand is traditionally high, as people return from work or start to prepare evening meals.

It is the second time in two weeks that the wind record has been broken in Britain, after a previous best was set on 30 December.

The German energy giant Uniper, which owns the Nottinghamshire plant, said: "As requested by the government, Uniper is now looking at whether we can make the unit available to run under standard market arrangements until the September 2024 coal phase-out date.

"We have prequalified the unit to take part in the capacity market T-1 auction for 2023/24 [an auction for back-up power]. This means further investment to extend the life of the unit. The power station is set to close at the end of September 2024."

A government spokesman said: "The UK has a secure and diverse energy system, and we remain confident in our security of supply.

"Working closely with Ofgem, National Grid Gas and other key industry organisations, we continuously monitor our energy supply and ensure we are ready for a range of scenarios.

"In line with our net zero target, the government is planning to phase out unabated coal-fired power generation by the end of 2024."

This article was amended on 12 January and 13 January 2023 to clarify in the text and headline that three of the four units at Ratcliffe-on-Soar were already due to remain open until 2024.

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UK coal-burning power facility to stay open two years longer than planned

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar's fourth unit to be kept viable until late 2024 as ministers make request prompted by energy crisis

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Audre Lorde, "Coal" from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by Audre Lorde. Reprinted with the permission of Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., www.nortonpoets.com.

Source: The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (W. W. Norton and Company Inc., 1997)

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Audre Lorde, "Coal" from The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde. Copyright © 1997 by Audre Lorde. Reprinted with the permission of Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., www.nortonpoets.com. Source: The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (W. W. Norton and Company Inc., 1997)

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The Future of Coal Generation in Great Britain: Impact Assessment (2020)

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The Future of Coal Generation in Great Britain: Impact Assessment (2020)

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Libita Sibungu: Quantum Ghost | Exhibitions | Gasworks

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Gasworks presents the first UK solo exhibition by British-Namibian artist Libita Sibungu.

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A plan showing the intended Nottingham Canal (1791)

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A plan showing the intended Nottingham Canal (1791)

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The University of Manchester Energy Database - Card Deck 

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The University of Manchester Energy Database - Card Deck 

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“Promethea has awakened in me dreams extinguished for thousands of years; sometimes one catches on fire even through so many icy layers. Promethea has rekindled dreams of fire in me, dreams of abysses, they are terribly dangerous dreams: as long as they are dreams alone, as long as one dreams alone, one can fool around with dreaming, because afterward one forgets. But now, ever since I learned how Promethea brings the fire of all dreams up into reality, how she climbs back up through the shaft of the Red Cows, bearing the first fire, how she crosses the Chamber of the Mares, how she goes through every epoch of existence reawakening along the walls memories of times so fragile and so inflammable, and comes out in 1982 still carrying in her hands the primitive spark, I feel myself wavering between exultation and terror. Formerly, I too sucked satiny coals. Once I burned my tongue. (That only happens if someone makes you lose faith.) Ever since I have no longer dared suck real fire; for a long time I lived on electricity. But I have never forgotten the fiery taste of eternity. I just was sure that I could live with my tongue extinguished until the end of my days. I was not even tempted. I was calm. I had firm definitions. I called happiness the absence of unhappiness. I wrote in ink and I dedicated my dreams to the Moons.” ― Hélène Cixous, The Book of Promethea

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https://ornc.org/news/coalescence-by-paul-cocksedge-to-arrive-to-the-painted-hall/#:~:text=The%20six%2Dmetre%20diameter%20artwork,and%20dependence%20on%2C%20fossil%20fuels.

'The six-metre diameter artwork is made from over 2,500 pieces of coal with a combined weight of over half a tonne – the amount of coal consumed by a single 200W light bulb in a year. Coalescence was developed by Paul Cocksedge to question our relationship with, and dependence on, fossil fuels.'

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Coalescence, a thought-provoking art installation from internationally acclaimed designer Paul Cocksedge, is coming to the magnificent Painted Hall this December. The six-metre diameter artwork is made from over 2,500 pieces of coal with a combined weight of over half a tonne - the amount of coal consumed by a single 200W light bulb in a year. Coalescence was developed by Paul Cocksedge to question our relationship with, and dependence on, fossil fuels.

The large-scale sculpture will be suspended in the Painted Hall and illuminated to create a captivating sparkle and shadow play that draws on the lustrous quality of the anthracite, a form of high-carbon coal. Coalescence will be displayed against the grand backdrop of 40,000 square foot of painted walls and ceilings in the Painted Hall, which is the first London venue to host the work.

Also displayed will be a never-before-seen, brand new artwork in the adjoining Nelson Room. 20 Trees blends maths with environmental awareness. Using anthracite blocks, the sculpture subtly conveys a message about ecological balance: if burned, it would take 20 trees an entire year to offset the carbon emissions produced.

Each work stands as a reminder of the critical balance between human actions and environmental stability, encouraging us to contemplate our relationship with the natural world.

Paul Cocksedge, co-founder of Paul Cocksedge Studio, says, "The grandeur of the Painted Hall, with the impressive space it offers, is a perfect frame for this piece. We believe the historic setting speaks to the artwork's own implicit links with time and British heritage. We are excited to see how the sculpture emphasises and complements the beauty of the awe-inspiring setting."

Matthew Mees, Chief Executive of the Old Royal Naval College, says, "As the centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, the Old Royal Naval College is a place of wonder and awe that we want to share with people and inspire through art and stories. We are delighted that Paul Cocksedge chose the Painted Hall for the London debut of this remarkable artwork. The setting of this new installation invites our visitors to reflect on the environment, energy, power, time and history."

Alongside the installation will be a specially curated programme of events for all, including a Father Christmas storytelling session inspired by the artwork, as well as a sparkling evening dining experience in the Painted Hall.

Coalescence follows successful collaborations between the Old Royal Naval College and contemporary artists such as Luke Jerram, and his artworks Gaia and the Museum of the Moon. Coalescence will be on display at the Old Royal Naval College from December 9, 2023 to February 4, 2024.

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Installation by Paul Cocksedge to arrive to the Painted Hall this December

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Coalescence, an art installation about fossil fuels by designer Paul Cocksedge, to arrive to the Painted Hall this December.

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Growth of bioluminescent mushrooms (Panellus stipticus)

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Growth of bioluminescent mushrooms (Panellus stipticus)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cTBlPnB3Wg

1 second of video = approx. 12 hours of growth. The first submarine, ‘Turtle’, developed during the American Revolutionary War, used glowing fungi to illuminate its depth gauge. English coal miners in the 19th century reported fungus on pit props that cast enough light to see their hands by. .

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Growth of bioluminescent mushrooms (Panellus stipticus)

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Graeme Macdonald - Research Note: The Resources of Fiction

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Graeme Macdonald - Research Note: The Resources of Fiction

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https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/people/macdonald/119-rct422013macdonaldresources.pdf

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https://nottinghamcityofliterature.com/blog/coal-in-the-blood-david-amos-and-natalie-braber-tell-is-about-their-new-anthology/

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At secondary school in the late 1960' / early 1970's, poetry and literature did not play a large part in my life. I was put onto science and technology courses for my O Levels which was a mistake, the subjects I was really interested in at school were in the Arts and Humanities, but these didn't get you a job! I left secondary school as a dissatisfied under-achiever and following a brief job at as a Stores Lad at a local Co-op Store, I went to the pit and was there for the next twenty-four years.

My working life at the pit came to grief as the coal industry went into terminal decline and I left the industry in 1998 at the age of forty-one. Following a brief job employed as an Administration Officer for the National Federation of Anglers (some say I was carping about!), I gained my BA Degree in History and Politics from the University of Derby at the age of 45. I then entered the world of Adult and Community Education as a Tutor and it was there that the Arts and Humanities, which I was interested in to start with, started to flourish. It was just as if it had been stored up for thirty years!

There were musicians, singers, stand-up comics, painters, creative writers and pitmen poets, many with such talent that I wondered how they ever ended up working down a coal mine in the first place!

During my time working at the pit, I took notice of the immense amount of talent, which existed amongst the miners. There were musicians, singers, stand-up comics, painters, creative writers and pitmen poets, many with such talent that I wondered how they ever ended up working down a coal mine in the first place! I started to collect some of the poems and stories written by local miners, most of which related to real life pit incidents, and it was some of these, which formed the basis of Coal in the Blood. Coal Anthologies have been compiled which included literary work from the Great North East and South Wales coalfields, but virtually nothing had been done in the former East Midlands coalfield. It was while working as a researcher with Natalie Braber at Nottingham Trent University from 2016 to 2019 that the idea for an East Midlands Coal Mining Anthology was hatched, coming to fruition in November 2021.
Natalie Braber

This is the first collection of poems, short stories and anecdotes about the coal mining industry in the East Midlands. The publication brings together writing from around the region, some by established poets and writers, including some pitmen poets, and some by new authors.

We want to ensure that lives are not forgotten and that memories of 'life in coal' are passed on to younger generations.

For centuries coal has been mined in the East Midlands and it has helped to shape the identity of the region. Many pit communities formed around the collieries and the daily routine of mining affected everybody's life, not just the life of miners and their families. The last deep coal mine in the region closed in 2015, which was Thoresby Colliery, and with it, a way of life is now rapidly disappearing and we want to ensure that lives are not forgotten and that memories of 'life in coal' are passed on to younger generations.

David Nunn says: 'British miners have always tended to be men apart'. What binds them together is a very strong sense of common identity and camaraderie. The embodiment of this feeling is the community - the allotments, the brass bands, the galas, the sports teams, the holidays and the joint days out. In many mining towns, the pit was relied upon to sustain these communities. Much writing about miners is not written by miners - they become someone who must be spoken for, rather than spoken with. In this book we are aiming for authentic voices from miners as well as their families and friends.

Some of the pieces in this book are emotional and hard-hitting. Some are rude or offensive, but many of them are very funny! Humour was crucial in coal mining, acting as an antidote to such dangerous working conditions- all the dirt, the danger and the darkness.
Coal in the Blood: An East Midlands Coal Mining Anthology, edited by Natalie Braber and David Amos, and published in 2021 by Trent Editions is available through the Mining Heritage website and other book stores.

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Coal in the Blood: David Amos and Natalie Braber Tell Us About Their New Anthology - Nottingham City of Literature

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David Amos and Natalie Braber tell us about their new anthology: 'Coal in the Blood: An East Midlands Coal Mining Anthology', a collection of creative work from the East Midlands coal fields

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David Thomas - The canary in the coal mine: Tony Harrison and thepoetics of coal, climate, and capital (2016)

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David Thomas - The canary in the coal mine: Tony Harrison and thepoetics of coal, climate, and capital (2016)

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TANGENTS: LETTERS ON ETEL ADNAN PART ONE

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TANGENTS: LETTERS ON ETEL ADNAN PART ONE

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Katy Lewis Hood and Maria Sledmere correspond

'A week ago I was standing looking at a deep red-orange rectangle oozing from the side of a seawall on the northeast coast of England. Closer up you could see the bank was hardened, compacted industrial sludge, interspersed with coal debris. The local colliery had dumped its waste here as a coastal defence measure until its closure in 1994.'

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tangents: letters on Etel Adnan PART ONE

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Katy Lewis Hood and Maria Sledmere correspond

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glisten, or glow,
like the weaponry
in heaven.
Frictionless.
As if slickened
with some Pentecost
-al auntie's last bottle
of anointing oil, an ark
of no covenant
one might easily name,
apart from the promise
to preserve all small
& distinctly mortal forms
of loveliness
any elder
African American
woman makes
the day she sees sixty.
Consider the garden
of collards & heirloom
tomatoes only,
her long, single braid
streaked with gray
like a gathering
of weather,
the child popped
in church for not
sitting still, how even that,
they say, can become an omen
if you aren't careful,
if you don't act like you know
all Newton's laws
don't apply to us
the same. Ain't no equal
& opposite reaction
to the everyday brawl
race in America is,
no body so beloved
it cannot be destroyed.
So we hold on to what
we cannot hold.
Adorn it
in Vaseline, or gold,
or polyurethane wrapping.
Call it ours
& don't
mean owned.
Call it just
like new,

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glisten, or glow, like the weaponry in heaven. Frictionless. As if slickened with some Pentecost -al auntie's last bottle of anointing oil, an ark of no covenant one might easily name, apart from the promise to preserve all small & distinctly mortal forms of loveliness any elder African American woman makes the day she sees sixty.

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Editor’s Column: Literature in the Ages ofWood, Tallow, Coal, Whale Oil, Gasoline,Atomic Power, and Other Energy Sources

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Editor’s Column: Literature in the Ages ofWood, Tallow, Coal, Whale Oil, Gasoline,Atomic Power, and Other Energy Sources

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Jason Moore - 'Anthropocene, Capitalocene & the Myth of Industrialization II: From Geology to Geohistory in the Capitalist World-Ecology' (2015)

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Jason Moore - 'Anthropocene, Capitalocene & the Myth of Industrialization II: From Geology to Geohistory in the Capitalist World-Ecology' (2015)

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https://jasonwmoore.wordpress.com/2013/07/04/anthropocene-capitalocene-the-myth-of-industrialization-ii/

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratcliffe-on-Soar_Power_Station

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Uniper at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW. As of September 2023, it is the only coal-fired power station left in the UK, and is scheduled to close in September 2024.

View from the south-west including the A453 (July 2020)

Cooling towers viewed from the East Midlands Parkway rail station platform

The power station occupies a prominent position next to the A453, close to junction 24 of the M1, the River Trent and the Midland Main Line (adjacent to East Midlands Parkway station) and dominates the skyline for many miles around with its eight cooling towers and 199 m (653 ft) tall chimney. It has four units, each consisting of a coal-fired boiler made by Babcock & Wilcox driving a 500 megawatt (MW) Parsons generator set. The four boilers are rated at 435 kg/s, steam conditions were 158.58 bar at 566 °C, with reheat to 566 °C. This gives the station a total generating capacity of 2.116 GW, which is enough electricity to meet the needs of approximately 2 million people. There are 4 x 17.5 MW auxiliary gas turbines on the site; these were commissioned in December 1966.

Ratcliffe power station is supplied with coal and other bulk commodities by rail via a branch off the adjacent Midland Main Line (MML). Rail facilities include a north facing junction off the MML slow lines, two tracks of weighbridges, coal discharge hoppers, and a flue gas desulfurisation discharge and loading hopper. There was formerly a fly ash bunker and loading point with a south-facing connection to the MML, this was extant in 1990 but had been demolished and disconnected by 2005.

Uniper has its Technology Centre at the site, where it carries out research and development on power generation.

Environmental performance

The plant emits 8-10 million tonnes of annually making it the 18th highest CO ₂-emitting power station in Europe as of 2009.

Ratcliffe power station is compliant with the Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD), an EU directive that aims to reduce acidification, ground level ozone and particulates by controlling the emissions of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and dust from large combustion plants. To reduce emissions of sulphur the plant is fitted with Flue Gas Desulphurisation, and also with a Boosted Over Fire Air system to reduce the concentration of oxides of nitrogen in the flue gas.

Ratcliffe power station is the first in the United Kingdom to be fitted with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, which reduces the emissions of nitrogen oxides, through the injection of ammonia directly into the flue gas and passing it over a catalyst.

The construction of the power station began in 1963 and it opened in 1968.

The architects were Godfrey Rossant and J. W. Gebarowicz of Building Design Partnership. White cladding was used on the boiler and turbine houses and the end elevations had vertical bands of glazing to emphasise their verticality, the four concrete coal bunkers projected above the roof-line.

In 1981, the station was burning 5.5 million tonnes of coal a year, consuming 65% of the output of south Nottinghamshire's coal-mines. The last of Nottinghamshire's collieries has since closed in 2015. Emissions of sulphur dioxide, which cause acid rain, were greatly reduced in 1993 when a flue gas desulphurisation system using a wet limestone-gypsum process became operational on all of the station's boilers. Emissions of oxides of nitrogen, greenhouse gases which also cause damage to the ozone layer, were reduced in 2004 when new equipment was fitted to Unit 1 by Alstom.

In 1975/76 and again in 1986/87 Ratcliffe was presented with the Hinton Cup, the CEGB's "good house keeping trophy". The award was commissioned by Sir Christopher Hinton, the first chairman of the CEGB.

Hinton Cup

On 11 February 2009, Unit 1 became the first UK 500 MW coal-fired unit to run for 250,000 hours.

On 2 April 2009, E.ON UK announced it had installed a 68 panel solar photovoltaic array at the power station "to help heat and light the admin block, saving an estimated 6.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year".

In June 2021, the site was listed as a possible location for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant. However, it was withdrawn from the shortlist in January 2022.

In response to the 2021 United Kingdom natural gas supplier crisis, the decommissioning of one of the station's 500 megawatt units in September 2022 has been delayed to prevent UK blackouts.

Environmental protests

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, from the east, with a train of coal being unloaded as it passes at walking pace through the building at middle right.

On 10 April 2007, eleven environmental activists from a group called Eastside Climate Action were arrested after they entered the power station and climbed onto equipment in order to draw attention to greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power stations, when E.ON UK was proposing to build more.

In 2009, the station was the intended target of protestors when, in the early hours of 14 April, police arrested 114 people at Iona School who were planning to disrupt the running of the power plant. Those arrested were not charged and soon released on bail. Later, 26 of those arrested were charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass, a charge that carries a maximum six months sentence. Twenty of these activists, having admitted that they planned to break into the power station, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit aggravated trespass. When sentencing 18 of these protesters, in December 2010, the judge called them '...decent men and women...' and handed out community orders with only two having to pay reduced expenses. The charge against the six pleading not guilty was dropped when it was revealed that Mark Kennedy of the Metropolitan Police had been working as an undercover infiltrator for the National Public Order Intelligence Unit and had played a significant role in organising the action. Additionally, recordings made by Kennedy should have been made available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the defence team, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996.[citation needed ] Following these revelations the 20 convicted activists appealed, and their convictions have since been quashed.

Between 17 and 18 October 2009, protesters from Climate Camp, Climate Rush and Plane Stupid, took part in The Great Climate Swoop at the site. The police arrested 10 people before the protest began on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage. Some 1,000 people took part, and during the first day groups of up to several hundred people pulled down security fencing at a number of points around the plant. Fifty-six arrests were made during the protest and a number of people were injured, including a policeman, who was airlifted to hospital but later discharged.

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station - Wikipedia

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Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Uniper at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW. As of September 2023, it is the only coal-fired power station left in the UK, and is scheduled to close in September 2024.

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'High Merit': existing English post-war coal and oil-fired power stations in context

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'High Merit': existing English post-war coal and oil-fired power stations in context

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https://miningheritage.co.uk/songs-and-rhymes-from-the-mines-pleasley-pit/

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As part of the 150th anniversary commemorations for the sinking of Pleasley Colliery, a Songs and Rhymes from the Mines event took place at the Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, Derbyshire, on Friday evening, 29th September 2023. The preserved Pleasley Pit is run by former coalminer volunteers who conduct surface visits around the former colliery site. Centrepiece are the two preserved colliery winding engines which are periodically run (by electric) on open days. The Stanton Coal and Iron Company sunk the colliery in 1873 and it finished production in December 1983 when it merged with nearby Shirebrook Colliery. More details of the preserved Pleasley Pit site at https://www.pleasleypittrust.org.uk/

Songs and Rhymes from the Mines, a 2018 initiative as part of the Coal and Dialect project at Nottingham Trent University.

The Songs and Rhymes from the Mines initiative came about as part of the 2016 - 2019 East Midlands Coal and Dialect project at Nottingham Trent University, overseen by Prof. Natalie Braber and Dr David Amos. More details on the Coal and Dialect project at https://coalanddialect.wixsite.com/coaldialect

Local folk singer / songwriter, Martin Carey aka Johnny Kedleston, at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, 29th September 2023.

Video clip of local folk singer / songwriter, Martin Carey aka Johnny Kedleston, singing Welfare Hall.

Dosco Mk2 Roadheader by moonlight at Pleasley Pit, 29th September 2023.

Former Leicestershire coalminer and pit poet, Roger Cornish, at Pleasley Pit on 29th September 2023.

Preserved Lillieshall colliery winding engine at Pleasley Pit on 29th September 2023.

Local folksinger and former coalminer, Terry Faulkner, at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre on 29th September 2023.

Video clip of Terry Faulkner singing A Working Man at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre on 29th September 2023.

Full moon under Pleasley Colliery north headstock -29th September 2023

Local poet, Kath Bartholomew, reading some of the pit poetry of her late brother, David Tugby - Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, 29th September 2023.

Special brew Pleasley Pit ale to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the colliery.

Local folk singer and former coalminer, Rob Harley, at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre on 29th September 2023.

Video clip of Rob Harley singing Andy Clarke's song, Pleasley Pit, at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, 29th September 2023.

Miners motties from the last three Derbyshire collieries, Bolsover, Shirebrook and Markham, which all closed 30 years ago in 1993.

Local singer / songwriter, Al Taylor aka Al Rate, at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, 29th September 2023.

Video clip of Al Rate singing Mine Eyes, a miners tribute song written by ex miner and pit poet, John Stafford. Performed at Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, 29th September 2023.

Exhibition of colliery winding rope at the preserved Pleasley Pit.

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Songs and Rhymes from the Mines - Pleasley Pit | Mining Heritage

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As part of the 150th anniversary commemorations for the sinking of Pleasley Colliery, a Songs and Rhymes from the Mines event took place at the Pleasley Pit Visitors Centre, Derbyshire, on Friday evening, 29th September 2023. The preserved Pleasley Pit is run by former coalminer volunteers who conduct surface visits around the former colliery site.

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This is Katy Lewis Hood’s Oulipian transformation of the poem ‘Transpiration’ which Maria will read in the workshop. The process was to rewrite the poem removing all letters in the word ‘oxygen’.

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Coal takes millions of years to form

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of carbon and hydrocarbons. Coal is classified as a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form. Coal contains the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in swampy forests.

Layers of dirt and rock covered the plants over millions of years. The resulting pressure and heat turned the plants into the substance we call coal.

Types of coal

Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce. The rank of a coal deposit is determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on the plants over time.

Anthracite contains 86%-97% carbon and generally has the highest heating value of all ranks of coal. Anthracite accounted for less than 1% of the coal mined in the United States in 2021. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are in northeastern Pennsylvania. In the United States, anthracite is mainly used by the metals industry.

Bituminous coal contains 45%-86% carbon. Bituminous coal in the United States is between 100 million and 300 million years old. Bituminous coal is the most abundant rank of coal found in the United States, and it accounted for about 45% of total U.S. coal production in 2021. Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material for making coking coal or use in the iron and steel industry. Bituminous coal was produced in at least 16 states in 2021, but five states accounted for about 78% of total bituminous production: West Virginia (30%), Pennsylvania (16%), Illinois (14%), Kentucky (10%), and Indiana (7%).

Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%-45% carbon, and it has a lower heating value than bituminous coal. Most subbituminous coal in the United States is at least 100 million years old. About 46% of total U.S. coal production in 2021 was subbituminous and about 88% was produced in Wyoming and 8% in Montana. The remainder was produced in Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Lignite contains 25%-35% carbon and has the lowest energy content of all coal ranks. Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young and were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure. Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, which contributes to its low heating value. Lignite accounted for 8% of total U.S. coal production in 2021. About 56% was mined in North Dakota and about 36% was mined in Texas. The other 8% was produced in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana. Lignite is mostly used to generate electricity. A facility in North Dakota also converts lignite to synthetic natural gas that is sent in natural gas pipelines to consumers in the eastern United States.
Last updated: October 19, 2022 with most recent data available at the time of update.

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How coal is formed and definitions of different types or ranks of coal: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite.

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During the 1980s miners' strike, queer activists from London and other UK cities supported striking miners, trade unions and political organisations, including the Nottinghamshire Women's Support Group. This collective action and struggle has been depicted in the film Pride.

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About this Archive

Administrative/Biographical History

The London Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) group was formed in July 1984, four months into the year-long miners' strike of 1984-5. Founding members Mike Jackson and Mark Ashton had organised a bucket collection to support the striking miners on the June 1984 London Pride march and decided that more needed to be done to raise awareness of the miners' cause in the London lesbian and gay community. Eleven people attended that first meeting and over sixty people were involved in LGSM by the end of the strike in March 1985.

LGSM groups were also formed in ten other towns and cities across the UK, among them Manchester, Brighton, Southampton and Lothian. A Dublin LGSM group was also formed.

London LGSM built solidarity links with the South Wales mining communities of Dulais and also donated funds to the Nottinghamshire Women's Support Group. The money raised was used to sustain striking miners and their families throughout the duration of the strike. Money was raised primarily from collections at gay pubs and clubs and on the pavement outside Gay's The Word bookshop.

Lesbians Against Pit Closures (LAPC) was formed in November 1984 by some of the women members in LGSM and more than 20 women were involved in the group. They focused on raising money at women's venues in London and donated the money raised to the Rhodesia Women's Action Group in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. LGSM gave practical support to LAPC.

The single biggest fundraising event organised by London LGSM was the 'Pits and Perverts' benefit at London's Electric Ballroom, on 10 December 1984, which raised £5,650. Bronski Beat (featuring Jimmy Somerville) were the headline act at the benefit.

The alliance between LGSM and the South Wales striking miners and their families was an important factor in turning the tide in the trade union movement in favour of equality measures for lesbians and gay men. At the October 1984 Labour Party Conference, the National Union of Mineworkers sent the following message of solidarity to the Labour Campaign for Lesbian and Gay Rights:
Support civil liberties and the struggle of lesbians and gay people. We welcome the links forged with South Wales and other areas. Our struggle is yours. Victory to the miners.
The NUM and the mining communities of South Wales joined LGSM at the head of the June 1985 London Pride march and the NUM went on to support the call for lesbian and gay equality at the 1985 Labour Party Conference and Trades Union Congress.

LGSM folded in June 1985, shortly after the end of the strike in March 1985, but reformed as Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners Again (LGSMA) when a huge round of pit closures were announced in 1992.

The LGSM story is told in the 2014 film Pride, and the group reformed in October 2014 to respond to the new wave of interest in our story. During 2015, our members have participated in, and in some cases our banner has led, twelve Pride parades/marches across the UK - including London, Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Norwich. At the Pride in London Parade, we led a contingent of 4,000 people, carrying NUM, trade union and students' banners.

Written by Mike Jackson of LGSM.

Scope and Content

Papers, photographs, press cuttings, flyers, correspondence, ephemera belonging to Mike Jackson regarding the activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, [1977-2022]. Includes photographs taken at protest marches and demonstrations in support of the Miners' strike (1984-1985); flyers for events organised by LGSM and other groups including Women Against Pit Closures; press cuttings and publicity material for the film 'Pride'; correspondence, press release, flyer and other publicity for the documentary film 'Still the Enemy Within'; Trade Union (chiefly USDAW) conference programmes and publications; typescripts of talks given by Mike Jackson regarding the 1984-1985 Miners' strike; correspondence, handwritten notes and tickets for performances of and publicity material for the play 'Pits and Perverts' (2013); programmes and wristbands for London, Norwich, Doncaster, Foyle [Derry], Sunderland Pride events; Hansard record of the House of Commons Early Day Motion marking the House's thanks to the LGSM; delegate pack for the ILGA Europe conference (2015); programme for exhibition 'With Banners Held High: Celebrating the spirit and courage of the Miners' strike', Wakefield (2016); replica of the original 1984 LGSM banner (c.2014).

Quantity

2 boxes and 5 oversized items

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Proudly independent since 1895, Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural venue in the City of London. Our beautiful Victorian building is a place for people to connect over a shared love of learning. We believe everyone's history should be valued, and our special collections and archives document the experiences of everyday life, as well as the people who have campaigned for social, political and cultural change. Come on in to explore our archives, take a course, or hire our amazing spaces.

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Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (Bishopsgate Archive) | Bishopsgate Institute

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Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation - Mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. Sedimentary bedrock formed between 318 and 309.5 million years ago during the Carboniferous period.

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BGS Geology Viewer - The Geological Map Viewer of Britain

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Discover our geology with direct access to detailed information about the rocks all around you.

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Notthingamshire Minerals Local Plan (2005)

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Notthingamshire Minerals Local Plan (2005)

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https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/110628/chapter-12-coal.pdf

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https://trilobite.bond/past/06/sledmere.html

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