Could you live without electricity?

ahnowbrowncow

Electricity was out for the whole town of Killarney and maybe even further for over an hour.

Tourists looking all confused as there was no light in shops, tills and atms not working, traffic lights down. If you were a shoplifter I'd say you could have had a field day with all the cameras being off.

Most places didn't even have access to water and even the ones that did had no electricity to heat it. No tea for me this morning.

leeside11

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Electricity was out for the whole town of Killarney and maybe even further for over an hour.

Tourists looking all confused as there was no light in shops, tills and atms not working, traffic lights down. If you were a shoplifter I'd say you could have had a field day with all the cameras being off.

Most places didn't even have access to water and even the ones that did had no electricity to heat it. No tea for me this morning.

Know an old guy living without electricity and running water, healthy as anything
A bachelor naturally...

BabyE

Not in Ireland, I would probably last slightly longer if I lived in a hot climate by the beach(basing that on my electricity usage when we get good weather here)

biko

I'd last ten minutes and then starve to death.

Maybe a bit longer than ten minutes.

kneemos

Amass weapons,dig a hole.

Particularly in Kerry.

snubbleste

Yes.

westcoast66

I could no problem, but then we live near running water and grow a lot of our own food. The main problem for the majority of the population would be no access to money and therefore no way of buying food.

Shenshen

I don't suppose I'd die immediately, but why on earth would you WANT to live without electricity?

Dravokivich

Like on one of them 30 day challenge things, or off the grid completely like them doomsday preppers?

I'd rather not be in a position to live without electricity. Not just due to the luxuries of TV, PC and all that. But it's benefits such as Heat, Light, Storage, Cooking.

We're not better off by being able to go backwards, but by looking to go forwards more efficiently.

Winterlong

When are the electric workers next due to go on strike? There must be a payclaim due soon.

The Backwards Man

Yep, the world would function fairly well without electricity, despite what the prophets of doom would say. Millions of city folk who wouldn't know a blackberry from a piece of goat dung would die, granted, but the rest of us would be fine.

Read the excellent One Second After/One Year After, which details the events after EMP attacks across the world, which knocks out power supplies/electrical equipment along large parts of the planet.

Probably not for very long, I would reckon.

Winterlong

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Yep, the world would function fairly well without electricity, despite what the prophets of doom would say. Millions of city folk who wouldn't know a blackberry from a piece of goat dung would die, granted, but the rest of us would be fine.

That is easy.
Blackberry.
Dung.

Hologram

No. Well I would live, as in not die (although it's needed for illnesses) but would not manage without it for long - especially in the winter. Too reliant on it. We all are, no matter what "hard nuts" who are not in that actual position say.

fineso.mom

Had no electricity for a few days after a bad storm. Managed fine as I have a gas hob and woodburning stove so was ok for heat and food. I even managed to feed a few neighbours who only had electric appliances. The worst part was not having water but other than that it was ok. Eating dinner by candlelight was quite nice.

hawkwing

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Electricity was out for the whole town of Killarney and maybe even further for over an hour.

Tourists looking all confused as there was no light in shops, tills and atms not working, traffic lights down. If you were a shoplifter I'd say you could have had a field day with all the cameras being off.

Most places didn't even have access to water and even the ones that did had no electricity to heat it. No tea for me this morning.

Was out in Tralee,Killorglin,Kenmare,Caherciveen,Castleisland and Dingle too from 915-1015ish

The Backwards Man

Winterlong wrote: »

That is easy.
Blackberry.
Dung.

Now, make jam with one and plant a pear tree with the other. You'll be a survivalist in no time.

Jimoslimos

biko wrote: »

I'd last ten minutes and then starve to death.

Maybe a bit longer than ten minutes.

Actually a lot shorter. Your heart would stop beating, nervous system shuts down, cells won't function, etc.

Butters1979

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Yep, the world would function fairly well without electricity, despite what the prophets of doom would say. Millions of city folk who wouldn't know a blackberry from a piece of goat dung would die, granted, but the rest of us would be fine.

Millions of city folk would flood out into the country side armed with weapons looking to take your food.

The Backwards Man

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Yep, the world would function fairly well without electricity, despite what the prophets of doom would say. Millions of city folk who wouldn't know a blackberry from a piece of goat dung would die, granted, but the rest of us would be fine.

Sadly this isn't accurate. There are some estimates that 90% of Americans would die within the first two years after a possible EMP blast. You can probably carry this out the same across multiple countries in the civilized world. Millions of country folk would die off too - how many farmers can maintain their land without the use of electrical equipment?

Its dead Jim

I would be either ****ed or have people fighting to employ me to bring back the electricity.

Electricity should be back in no time when I can't procrastinate.

The Backwards Man

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Sadly this isn't accurate. There are some estimates that 90% of Americans would die within the first two years after a possible EMP blast. You can probably carry this out the same across multiple countries in the civilized world. Millions of country folk would die off too - how many farmers can maintain their land without the use of electrical equipment?

Farmers have been maintaining their lands without electricity for thousands of years, and for many it is still a living memory, so that theory is out the window. Intensive farming would take a backwards dive, but there's many that would argue that's not such a bad thing. I hate these doomsday type estimations, wholly inaccurate and sensationalist rubbish for the most part.

Anyway, the OP was merely talking about the mains electric going out, think, not a EMP blast scenario.

Most country folk I know wouldn't even be left without electricity if the electricity went out.

osarusan

In my current home, no, as there are no substitutes.

At my parents' place with a garden, a well, a stove and thousands of trees to serve as fuel for cooking and heating, then yes.

But it would be very primitive and miserable.

sKeith

Even in the event of an EMP blast, its just an EMP blast. The laws of physics have not changed. There is nothing stopping you from making electricity. The internal combustion engine wont stop working unless you forget to buy fuel.

jamesbere

Just watch doomsday preppers and you'll be fine.

Speedwell

I was living in Houston when Hurricane Ike hit. My apartment complex sustained so little damage, despite being directly in the path, that it was almost fun to hear the eye go overhead. The entire city block and the area for a good way around was out of power for three days, though (and we were lucky; some folks were out for weeks). In hurricane territory, you prepare to have to be out of power for three days to a week or longer.

We had some compact camping equipment and a water purifier (the water supply still worked, hooray, toilets), plenty of flashlights, and a couple of battery-operated fans, and we had some good styrofoam coolers that we'd filled with ice before the storm hit, so we had milk for a few days, too. In the 35-degree heat, it was pleasant to wash in cool water anyway, so the only water we really heated was for coffee and cooking. If you keep the freezer compartment of an American freezer shut tight without opening it at all, it will keep your food fresh for at least a few days in a row, especially if it is full. We froze a few milk cartons full of water to fill the extra space and help keep the food cold.

The Vietnamese and Mexican restaurants happened to have propane backups for their refrigerators, and cooking equipment that ran on gas, so they were actually open right away and fed most of the neighborhood, cash only because the card machines naturally wouldn't work. Hot phở and cold guac in the summertime, yeah.

Your Face

I have in the past so - yes.

Capt'n Midnight

no problem, we used to watch TV by candlelight,



Your nervous system works on electricity so no you couldn't live without electricity. In fact you'd be dead before you hit the floor.

sryanbruen

No I could NEVER live without electricity! My life literally relies on electricity.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I'm a soft millennial type, I like my creature comforts. I'd need a tough bogman like TBM to take me under his wing and teach me how to fend for myself in a post electrical world.

Stasi 2.0

Farmers have been maintaining their lands without electricity for thousands of years, and for many it is still a living memory, so that theory is out the window. Intensive farming would take a backwards dive, but there's many that would argue that's not such a bad thing

How many people still have the skills to farm using pre-intensive methods and could seamlessly transition back to these methods at short notice. How much disruption would occur to the food supply and how many people would survive ?

pragmatic1

Deleted User wrote: »

Read the excellent One Second After/One Year After, which details the events after EMP attacks across the world, which knocks out power supplies/electrical equipment along large parts of the planet.

Probably not for very long, I would reckon.

Yeah an EMP attack would do serious destruction and take years to repair.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Absolutely not.

Estrellita

Ive toyed around with the notion of becoming an off-gridder since I had to do without electricity some time ago. It makes you very conscious of your electricity use and reliance on it. You would surprise yourself how resourceful you become.

Obviously, candles were used for light. I cooked and heated water on the BBQ. Hardly hard core off grid stuff but I managed just fine. It prompted a lot of off grid researching for me though. No harm in arming yourself with some tips if you ever have to do without power. But yeah, I can get by without electricity.

Cienciano

It went worldwide, we'd be ****ed in a year. Doesn't matter if you lived in a city or town. No communication, no travel, no food imported or cooled. Candels are great, but what about the winter when its dark from 5pm to 8am? Production of drugs would stop, so you get sick, you're ****ed. You could be lucky and last a while, but competition for resources would be crazy.
The idea that you have a farm outside mullingar so you'll be grand is out the window. 5 million hungry people will be after your spuds. It'll be back to spuds and buttermilk

PowerToWait

I could. It'd be awkward but we'd soon adapt.

It's easy to forget, but if you're from rural Ireland then it's very likely your grandparents lived a lot of their life without leccy. And also likely your parents were born before completion of the RE scheme.

Estrellita

Cienciano wrote: »

Candels are great, but what about the winter when its dark from 5pm to 8am?

You wouldn't be awake all those hours anyway. For a few reasons, like not having any electrical entertainment to keep you awake until the wee hours. The lack of electricity would also mean that you would be more physically active to do/get what you need to survive. Growing your own, washing your own clothing by hand etc. I'm sure you'd be too tired to be up late. Go to bed with the birds, get up with the birds

Only until my phone runs out of battery, then I would have a total mental breakdown.

Capt'n Midnight

http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/IndustrialRevolution/PreIndus.html

In England between the 15th and 18th centuries, 70 to 80% of household income went to buying food.

Apart from transport it would take us years to get back to diesel and steam power. Breeding animals would take longer and you need to feed oats to horses if you want them to work so more farming needed.

Nomis21

I lived for a year on a squatted piece of land on the outskirts of Amsterdam, known as "The Village". It was a squatter camp without electricity and just one flushing toilet for about 50 of it's inhabitants. I lived in an old double decker bus that I bought from a bus company and drove it over via North Sea ferries. Heat and cooking was via bottled gas and light by candles. Some caravan dwellers fixed up wood burning stoves.

We spent evenings getting stoned and talking in each others caravans/buses or making love with the drifters of both genders who wandered into the "village" at different times. Our bicycles were our most important possessions as we scavenged the city for empty plastic bottles to reclaim the money from self service machines in supermarkets to pay for items that we could not find for free and we eat from surplus food left out by bakeries and other shops.

A life without electricity and almost no money. I learnt a lot from that period of my life and remember it fondly...

ahnowbrowncow

hawkwing wrote: »

Was out in Tralee,Killorglin,Kenmare,Caherciveen,Castleisland and Dingle too from 915-1015ish

Only seeing this now, what was the cause?

mansize

No. I would go crazy with boredom

Sh1tbag OToole

Yes

Some day I hope to live off the grid, perhaps in a different country, far away from the maddening crowd and all ye miserable hoors

Hologram

If I had to, I could manage (as I would have no choice) but I would find it awful (especially in the winter). I am actually careful about electricity usage and I don't have a whole load of appliances on at once or base my life around technology, but it is a basic need in this day and age - for communicating, aspects of food preparation and cold storage, light, washing.

I don't know how realistic the people saying they would like it/would manage it indefinitely are being!

Stigura

Did do, one time. Year or more.

Worst of it was, I was living in a flatlet in a MOH. Couldn't exactly light a cooking fire in the bloke down stairs' back garden!

My place became known as The Cave. Grab a bottle of powerful stuff. Go back to Stigura's Cave and end up talking like Plato. By a candlelight.

Christ, those were some times! :pac:

Sh1tbag OToole

Stigura wrote: »

Did do, one time. Year or more.

Worst of it was, I was living in a flatlet in a MOH. Couldn't exactly light a cooking fire in the bloke down stairs' back garden!

My place became known as The Cave. Grab a bottle of powerful stuff. Go back to Stigura's Cave and end up talking like Plato. By a candlelight.

Christ, those were some times! :pac:

MOH

Mouldy overgrown house?

Stigura

Multiple Occupation House

PandaPoo

I lived without it for 3/4 weeks when I first moved into my house. We were waiting for it to be switched on and there was an issue with the cost.

It was fun we were newlyweds, married two days before we got the keys so we went to bed with candles every night! I really enjoyed it , wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be but I wouldn't want to do it again soon!

annascott

No. Showers, heating and wifi being the things I need most.

Sh1tbag OToole

annascott wrote: »

No. Showers, heating and wifi being the things I need most.

There is steam powered wifi but its a bit noisy and smells of coal (or in my case turf)

Yes I could.
Would I want to?.....get to ****!