A to Z Challenge: E - Electricity

Electricity is one of those things we take for granted. Society has built huge infrastructures that power entire cities and communities all at once. There are even redundancies for when parts of the grid fail, the other parts will help out the failing parts. There are balances and checks to make sure there's enough electricity to provide everyone with the power that they want.

If something happens and society breaks down and the grid stops powering our communities, then we will have to provide our own electricity. Electricity has only been around for 150 years or so. People have lit their homes with candles before that or just went to bed when it got dark. We should know how to light our house when it becomes dark and there's no electricity. We should have ways to let the light in.

We can create our own electricity. We can use batteries that are recharged by solar panels or wind power. I've seen generators running on rivers using paddlewheels. You can provide enough electricity to bring a little bit of light to your nighttime wanderings. 

You can always have flashlights available to walk around at night. You can charge these with batteries, but I find the best way to charge them are with hand cranks. They don't last as long per use but the batteries die a whole lot slower than using regular batteries. You might also learn how use propane lamps or other types of gas lamps. Candles made out of Crisco or crayons have been used in the past to help light homes at night.

Electricity runs your refrigerator. This is one of those things you need to learn how to live without. A refrigerator keeps things fresh longer. If you have to use what you produce right away, you don't really need a refrigerator. You can pick your salads from your garden and eat them.

I guess if you lose the Internet, you will probably not need your computer or your cell phone or your iPad or any of those other devices that need to be recharged every day. When you're not reliant on the power grid to recharge your tools then you find other things to occupy your time that don't require electricity. You might find the need for electricity a lot less of a necessity.

You might Need it for a radio or TV to listen to the news to see what's going on and to prepare yourself for any worsening conditions that might be moving your direction. This is also a way to be prepared. You can get TVs that can run on batteries or TVs that you can plug into your car. 

It's always good to have a generator. If we run the generator it makes loud noises and then you give away your position, so having a generator has its own problems. Even if you were far away from any other people you may still find it difficult to keep enough gasoline to run that generator. You may have to teach yourself how to make biodiesel.