Could you live without power (1 Viewer)

[_Sal]

no I couldn't live without power, I'm too soft and I love my comfort

when terrorists get smart, they won't attack groups of us, they will just decimate our power sources...bingo, no heat, no AC, no water, no surgery, no dentistry, no drugs, no alcohol...okay the last is giving me a panic attack just thinking about no cool white wine...

 

[X Factor]

I admit that I am heavily reliant on civilization. I suppose I'd survive, or hell, I might just go into a complete withdrawal from pizza, smart phones and Kickstart and just ****ing die.

 

[joG]

The question is could you? bout a month ago there was a power outage from wind knocking down trees over power lines, and all my neighbors were throwing a fit, had all their appliances electric, and no backup anything. I myself have a 700 watt generator, but it will only power a few lights a fan and charge a cellphone.

When I was in the military it was common to have zero power during field exercises excpept for the command areas, so up to two and a half weeks no power, and people flipped out, no way to charge their phones, no ac, heck no coffee pot.


Myself I am the type of person who has a percolator, basic backup power, and enough knowledge to survive without power. Others however do not, to the extent when they go camping they need a site with power outlets. So the real question is after todats conveniences could you survive without electricity?

Do you mean not even self-produced either? I would certainly need extra gas and some thermal solar. But how would I be able to communicate with y'all on DP?!?

 

[Bootlace]

i buy my beef 1/2 a steer at a time, and usually have 15 to 20 gal of home brew in various stages of process. Where I live outages aren't all that rare. I have back up power and enough gas to keep the beef frozen the beer cold until it is all consumed. The longest I've been without power was 2 weeks due to forest fire.

Can I survive without power? Will I have a choice once my fuel runs out?

 

[UtahBill]

I have a full basement that can be isolated from the rest of the house, and the center room of the basement is where all the utilities normally come and go. There are 200 gallons of water in the water heaters, also got lots of full plastic water barrels and HTH to kill the little bugs. If it isn't freezing outside, the city will turn in the secondary water that is normally used for watering lawns and such. Having working toilets will be a luxury, and yes I have a closet full of TP. For cooking, Esbit fuel pellets and candles and several different types of solar cookers. 2 Esbit tablets will boil enough water for a cup of oatmeal and a cup of hot chocalate.
I have batteries and an inverter so internet, if it is on, is available. Probably will just sit quiet so the unprepared won't know to come steal my food. If they do, I have ample brass and lead to discourage them.
Probably should get a solar panel added to my system, but how do you use it without telling the world there might be more and better stuff hooked up to it.
Gonna convert my exercycle to a generator someday.....hopefully before I actually need it.

 

[beerftw]

You must live near me, because wind knocking down trees is exactly what happened and we were without power for 10 days.

I have been a survivalist since the 70's, so we were just fine. My wife works remotely and she did not miss one minute of work.

The keys is to not rely on any one system.

Not too close I am in central texas you are in east texas, but the winds in general have been bad all over the state this year.

 

[radcen]

The question is could you? bout a month ago there was a power outage from wind knocking down trees over power lines, and all my neighbors were throwing a fit, had all their appliances electric, and no backup anything. I myself have a 700 watt generator, but it will only power a few lights a fan and charge a cellphone.

When I was in the military it was common to have zero power during field exercises excpept for the command areas, so up to two and a half weeks no power, and people flipped out, no way to charge their phones, no ac, heck no coffee pot.


Myself I am the type of person who has a percolator, basic backup power, and enough knowledge to survive without power. Others however do not, to the extent when they go camping they need a site with power outlets. So the real question is after todats conveniences could you survive without electricity?

Pretty much anybody *can*... if they have to. People are stronger than they know.

And yes, I could, but that doesn't mean I'd like it.

 

[_Sal]

Pretty much anybody *can*... if they have to. People are stronger than they know.

And yes, I could, but that doesn't mean I'd like it.

yes my question would be, who would want to?

 

[beerftw]

no I couldn't live without power, I'm too soft and I love my comfort

when terrorists get smart, they won't attack groups of us, they will just decimate our power sources...bingo, no heat, no AC, no water, no surgery, no dentistry, no drugs, no alcohol...okay the last is giving me a panic attack just thinking about no cool white wine...

Terrorists are not the ones to worry about on the power grid, it is cyber enemies. Both america and china heavily practice cyber attacks, and both have their priority set to taking down infrastructure like water and power in major cities, which has become easier with major cities shifting alot of their equipment to modern computerized stuff.

I am not sure on rural, but if a major city lost power for lets say 3 months, the death toll would be high, since fema the national guard etc could not provide enough food and water to sustain a supercenter like lets say la. Estimates on death tolls vary, but anywhere from 40-90% of the population would likely die since heavily populated cities rely so much on electricity.

The chaos created just by shutting down power plants would do more damage to a countries people and military than an actual military invasion, and nearly every civilized country already knows that.

 

[beerftw]

yes my question would be, who would want to?

Other than the amish and freak branches of mormons rejected by their main church, nearly no one. It is less do you want to rather than can you. Living without power for short periods of time is actually fun, like camping, it also builds long term survival skills.

 

[_Sal]

Terrorists are not the ones to worry about on the power grid, it is cyber enemies. Both america and china heavily practice cyber attacks, and both have their priority set to taking down infrastructure like water and power in major cities, which has become easier with major cities shifting alot of their equipment to modern computerized stuff.

I am not sure on rural, but if a major city lost power for lets say 3 months, the death toll would be high, since fema the national guard etc could not provide enough food and water to sustain a supercenter like lets say la. Estimates on death tolls vary, but anywhere from 40-90% of the population would likely die since heavily populated cities rely so much on electricity.

The chaos created just by shutting down power plants would do more damage to a countries people and military than an actual military invasion, and nearly every civilized country already knows that.

this sounds right...I live in an area that experienced the Northeast blackout of 2003, it was fine because emergency backups worked. Food will last for a while and it wasn't cold or particularly hot. Sure it was a joke to walk up 8 floors but I was 13 years younger. People with heart conditions living above a certain level could go nowhere.

Right away, all elective surgery is cancelled. Now that doesn't sound bad unless you need gallbladder surgery or minor fixes. Sure you will live but you will be on major pain killers.

that's just one tiny scenario

when we go down, I think it will begin like this.

the show Walking Dead which examines group dynamics as law and order and civilization breaks down is I believe fairly accurate.

 

[_Sal]

Other than the amish and freak branches of mormons rejected by their main church, nearly no one. It is less do you want to rather than can you. Living without power for short periods of time is actually fun, like camping, it also builds long term survival skills.

well, IF one is healthy, then maybe yes, but not for long and not for the elderly or the infirm

and most wouldn't last long

 

[PoS]

Could I live without power, Im sure we all could.

Would I be happy with it since I need my PC and internet to look after my businesses? Definitely not. :?

 

[Brochacholomigo]

I just love that so many people have said that they could live without electricity... because they own their own generators for producing electricity.

As for whether or not I could live without electricity? I highly doubt it. At the very least, the media & communications major I'm working on will be worth almost nothing (at least my general education will be a good foundation for learning a new trade). I also would be utterly reliant on friends and family that have prepared for the inevitable moment when 150 years of technological innovation suddenly explodes into pixie dust, which also means I have an endless stream of "I told you so's" to deal with.

 

[Cephus]

Could I survive without power? Yes. Would I be happy without power? Absolutely not.

 

[radcen]

I just love that so many people have said that they could live without electricity... because they own their own generators for producing electricity.

What those people are saying is that they could NOT live without power/electricity. All they're doing us substituting once source for another.

 

[Brochacholomigo]

What those people are saying is that they could NOT live without power/electricity. All they're doing us substituting once source for another.

I'm pretty sure one or two of them also had the gall to rip on Millennials for not being able to live without power without their own source of power. Now who's obsessed with technology?

 

[molten_dragon]

It would be difficult for me to live completely without power for more than a couple days. We have mostly gas appliances and heat, but unfortunately they're all 'modern' which means they require power to work. Stove, dryer, furnace, all need electricity to turn on.

We do have a gas fireplace with a pilot light, but it's in our great room with cathedral ceilings so it doesn't heat the room too well.

But, we have a whole home backup generator, so power outages aren't a big concern for us.

 

[Lovebug]

I tried 3 days without computer, tv or phone. Was refreshing to discover all the things I hadn't noticed for a while, read several books, exercised more, finally cleaned the house from top to bottom.
Surviving climate is different. When you depend on electricity to heat and cool your house, you might suffer a bit, depending on season and region.

 

[Moot]

I tried 3 days without computer, tv or phone. Was refreshing to discover all the things I hadn't noticed for a while, read several books, exercised more, finally cleaned the house from top to bottom.
Surviving climate is different. When you depend on electricity to heat and cool your house, you might suffer a bit, depending on season and region.

Same here. lol I got a lot more done around the house when my computer was in the shop getting repaired.

 

[What if...?]

Hell yeah I can. I've been in the field before. I've got my cold weather gear, sleeping bag, plenty of books (real, not "tablet) to read. I know how to build and maintain fire, make a shelter, and as long as my legs still work walk anywhere I need to.

Electricity makes things convenient, but come the zombie apocalypse I can deal.

Hell, there's enough generators, motors, solar panels etc I'm quite sure I could cobble together power pretty quick.

I still have the points out of my '74 GMC RV, so I will still be able to operate it after a massive solar flare or other emp.

 

[RetiredUSN]

I have been dabbling with less power here and there in the shop.

I know it is hardly roughing it, but my next boat will be completed with 100% hand tools.

 

[Deuce]

If you don't have the internet, is it really living?

 

[USViking]

I voted NO.

In the 20 winters that I have been at my present address (in Greensboro NC) ice storms have caused power outages of at least 48 hours three times. And the nearest hot coffee was about a half mile walk away (I don't drive on icy pavement, period). God it was awful. After the first one I went out and bought about 2 dozen candles, so at least I had light for the next two (And fortunately I enjoy reading books). Rather than live through entire winters with no power I would definitely move 500-1000 miles south of here.

But ya don't has to be a SpecOp tough guy to live through it if ya has to. Check this out:

Wiki: The 1998 North American Ice Storm

Canadian Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction: The 1998 North American Ice Storm

We are talking about more than 4 million people out of power, some for over a month, in a Canadian winter.

So they lived through it for 100s of years before we got an electric grid? Good for them!- We loose that grid for ever and Central America here I come!

 

[beerftw]

I voted NO.

In the 20 winters that I have been at my present address (in Greensboro NC) ice storms have caused power outages of at least 48 hours three times. And the nearest hot coffee was about a half mile walk away (I don't drive on icy pavement, period). God it was awful. After the first one I went out and bought about 2 dozen candles, so at least I had light for the next two (And fortunately I enjoy reading books). Rather than live through entire winters with no power I would definitely move 500-1000 miles south of here.

But ya don't has to be a SpecOp tough guy to live through it if ya has to. Check this out:

Wiki: The 1998 North American Ice Storm

Canadian Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction: The 1998 North American Ice Storm

We are talking about more than 4 million people out of power, some for over a month, in a Canadian winter.

So they lived through it for 100s of years before we got an electric grid? Good for them!- We loose that grid for ever and Central America here I come!

There are ways to make coffee without power, so long as you have gas to heat water or some backup cooking source, heck I have even used those crappy sterno gel fuels in a pinch to make coffee. Best method is a percolator, does everything for you just needs heat. The other method is cowboy coffee, for that you bring the water to a rolling boil, then add the grounds. The heat from the boiling water will suck the grounds to the bottom, so you get minimal grounds in your coffee.