Would you be prepared to live without Electricity?

[windy1]

A very good analysis greenrealist. We live in a period of rapid change, with the demands for energy constantly increasing, while the supply of energy (both the method and quantity) is in a state of crisis.

I would hope that goverments can engineer a smooth transition towards a sustainable level of energy use, and that this can be done without too much pain for the general population. I think you are right that people in general do not want to think seriously about these issues, but they are ready to complain as soon as they are personally affected, such as with the recent rises in gas and electricity prices.

[ChrisM.]

OK, so there were relatively few replies to my original question. Most people replied with a "No".

Continuing on, then...

1) What if the question were not 'Do you [b]want[b] to, but you are going to have to...have to live without electricity'? For example, if circumstances arising from the coming together of effects, such from famine, drought, social unrest, mass displacement, loss of electricity production, biodiversity loss and ecosystem upheaval, disease, loss of fuel distribution to power stations, loss of availability of the gadgets using the electricity, what then would be your reply? Have you that foundational basis for living first, before the luxuries are added?;

2) Most replies were in effect, "No, I want...". Does the Planet agree? Who owns the stadium, and is in charge (actually not a straightforward question);

3) Most replies were "No. I do not think/believe that we can (i) go backward, (ii) retrace steps, (iii) do without..." etc.. You could, of course, have chosen, and choose, to think and believe different to that, quite freely, and the outcomes would then be quite different. If you choose to think that we cannot, which direction are you therefore sending us in? Which of these aligns with the Planet's response, and which aligns with your/our want...?;

4) What is it in your mind that prevented you from saying "Yes" - Genuinely?
- Fear of something/many things? Noise? Inability to be calm and settled in your mind? Insufficient contentment? Worry (e.g. that you would get bored without all the gubbins around)? Belief that we cannot be without electricity to live happily and simply and survivably (is that aligned to Nature, or not)? It's not what you know and/or are brought up with? etc...;

5) What would you have answered if you lived in 1700, or in the Onge Tribe today, or in a Benedictine Monastery today? Where, then, does the difference reside? What, then, are the consequences of your answer, and belief? (inc. to the Planet, and thus to all)

All the Best and Thanks Everyone!!!

Chris.

[rc white]

To be honest I thought it a rather odd strangely put question in the first place, and found the conclusions you seem to have come too completely incomprehensible.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by ChrisM.

4) What is it in your mind that prevented you from saying "Yes" - Genuinely?
- Fear of something/many things? Noise? Inability to be calm and settled in your mind? Insufficient contentment? Worry (e.g. that you would get bored without all the gubbins around)? Belief that we cannot be without electricity to live happily and simply and survivably (is that aligned to Nature, or not)? It's not what you know and/or are brought up with? etc...;

5) What would you have answered if you lived in 1700, or in the Onge Tribe today, or in a Benedictine Monastery today? Where, then, does the difference reside? What, then, are the consequences of your answer, and belief? (inc. to the Planet, and thus to all)

Re (4): One of the primary motivations that should prevent anybody from saying “yes” is the reality that the entire financial system is dependent on electricity. If you say that you are willing to live without electricity – any money that you have in the bank is going to stay right there. It makes no difference how much you have, unless of course you have a major stash under your mattress, but few people risk that sort of thing today. This is not about the merits or otherwise of our present banking systems – it is the reality of the system in which we live and work, and in it is probably safe to say that anybody who is able to read (and respond to) this thread participates in some degree (regardless of their personal opinions of the system). When was the last time you conducted a transaction by handing a bank teller a wad of cash and manually signing in a bank book? Further to this, even the doors to the bank need electricity to open. So realistically, this reluctance would have little or nothing to do with fear of walking backwards, or noise (???), or mental upheaval, or even cultural addiction to digital gadgets – it is far more fundamental than that.

Re (5): Nobody here lives in 1700, and even if we had this issue would clearly not arise. If there are any Onge Tribals or Benedictine monks reading this, then they obviously have electricity (and internet access), so I fail to see the relevance of that question.


Plus, who says electicity use/dependence is a modern phenomenon? (Baghdad Battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[UKBullDog]

I would not be able to live without electricity.

The question should be "are you doing enough to save electricity?"

I ditto most of what the other posters said.

Electricity can be a good thing for the planet. It just depends on how this energy is created. The governments should encourage people through respective tax measures to integrate renewable energy sources into their properties and sell any excess back to the power grid.

If everyone can read their newpapers, magazines etc off the internet it would save thousands of trees every day. If we can harness heating via an electric channel it would reduce emissions.

It is pretty basic stuff, all of the electrical gadgets are available and yet people are not using it in the large scale they should.