Two Things History Has Taught Us To Do When The Electricity Is Out

If the electricity goes out that condition can cause widespread panic and grumpiness usually. I was reading one day over at Rural Revolution and saw where Patrice had written a great article about the Death of Knowledge. It was a very thought provoking article.

The length of time the electricity is out generally dictates what you need to do first. We understand that a brief power outage will probably not cause many problems. However what happens if the power was out for 2 weeks or longer in a state size or region area.

Do you know what should be done next? The most important thing that needs to be done when electricity goes out is to secure clean water. When the electricity is out then you may lose tap water soon or it may be contaminated. If you are on a well without alternative energy that I talked about yesterday then the water will not be pumped. If you get your water from a municipality then it may not be able to deliver clean water to your house.

If you are not getting clean water and do not have any than you have approximately 3 to 5 days to survive without water. There are many factors involved so the best bet is to not go one day. History has taught us that one good way is to boil water for 10 minutes. Another good way is to filter water with something similar to the Berkey System. Whatever you choose make sure you have made arrangements.

The other big thing that thousand of years of history has taught us when there is no electricity is light. A lot of people will say or plan to go to sleep with the chickens and get up with the chickens. That can work and certainly allows enough time in the summer. It may not allow enough work time in the winter months. I would suggest getting some old fashioned lanterns or lamps. Again with this preparation you need to plan ahead.

The amazing thing is that people are not familiar with a kerosene lamp. We had one growing up due to frequent power outages. Some people are scared of it because it has a flame. This hints at the reality of the article that Patrice wrote about. 100 years ago this type of lighting and forethought about clean water was commonplace. Now we just take for granted that it will always be there. In the old days you died. Let us pray that those types of lessons will not have to relearned.

No one ever lost anything by being prepared. In fact it is the Boy Scout Motto. It would not hurt anyone to make sure these 2 lessons from history are not overlooked.

This post was brought to you by the Rural North Carolina blog and the original posting can be be found here http://wokokon.com/electricity-out-cause-issues/

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