What if there was no electricity...

I think about this from time to time...it does have kind of a morbid twist to it, but also is more of a survival state of mind.

So picture the situation - one day, you wake up.  No electricity.  No radio.  No TV.  Something has happened that has indefinitely disrupted the infrastructure.  How long could you survive?

I think this varies widely from person to person and can be somewhat dependent on where you live.  As a whole though, I think our modern society has gotten so used to the wonderful convenience of the seemingly limitless food supply, electricity, and other modern conveniences that we've forgotten some basic survival skills and techniques that would be necessary to sustain us both short and long term if something were to disrupt these luxuries.

See, where I grew up and how I was raised people live a simpler lifestyle, so I learned some basic survival skills because well, the infrastructure isn't as dependable and people still use them.  For instance - if you dont' get the food at the grocery store - where do you get it?  Hunting, fishing, foraging...can you do any of this?  Do you even know of items in your local environment that are safe to eat...?  Or, in the event that you have some canned goods on hand, do you have a manual can opener to open them with?

What about keeping warm?  If it was winter and you didn't have indoor heating because electricity is gone and the gas will run out shortly, can you start a fire?  Cut down a tree?  Do you have the tools to do this?  Honestly, I could probably get a fire started, but we don't have the tools to cut down a tree...I should look into this.

I randomly think about this from time to time.  But also with the abundance of "survival" shows and especially the show "Life after people", I often wonder what would happen.  Then with the whole 2012 apocalypse theory...hmmmm....

I've ultimately decided that despite the fact that I feel I have an edge over a lot of the people I know since I do know how to grow and harvest my own food and start fires, etc. that if something happens I'd grab the supplies I think we could use (clothes, food, tools, etc) and head over to my parents house.  They have a wood stove so they would at least have a source to keep the house warm vs. us who have central heat and air.  They have a well and a stream on their property.  We could cook on the wood stove and boil water on the wood stove.  Plus, my step dad has hunting gear and the tools to cut down trees.  I think we could survive by working together.  It would be quite a change from where we are today, but we could do it.

I'm really hoping that I'll be able to pass along this knowledge and skills to Gianna.  Hopefully she never has to use them, but if she does for some reason, I'll be glad knowing that she has basis survival skills.

So back to my original question...could you survive without electricity?  How long?  Think about it.  Would it help you to learn a few new skills?