This seems to be a common thread here in the forum, but I'm very confused. You yourself claim that the steam engine was essential for pumping water - what does

This seems to be a common thread here in the forum, but I'm very confused. You yourself claim that the steam engine was essential for pumping water - what does the "steam was irrelevant" side actually think would have provided enough energy to pump that much water? Not anything whose caloric output depended on the input from farmers' fields, for sure, those were used for other consumers. Steam for the first time gave access to an energy source independent of feeding someone or something oats, that wasn't constrained to being next to the perfect stream. Not to mention that TFA actually has an example of a steam engine driven industry that was central to the GDP of the UK, pretty much destroying the "it was only water, never coal" argument.