''Revolution'' - the new TV series, 'turning the lights off' would NOT lead to mayhem...

reply to post by HelenConway


I don't know where you live but like I said my town has around 80k people, do you think 80 thousand people can do the same by hunting rabbits? how long does that food take to grow? what If your crop fails? what If someone takes your crops because they are starving?

Enjoying this thread BTW.

Originally posted by HelenConway

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by HelenConway

 

Look If you can not understand why we would have trouble for a long time If the electricity went out I have nothing more to say.

I recommend you read One second after to understand what would happen.

www.amazon.com...

This is the book which obama read and has tried to come up with answers, it scared him.

I DO understand that it would be difficult for a while - but I think the effects are blown out of proportion to the reality.

I have faith that we are clever and resourceful.

You do not have to share my faith. I say we were fine without electricty in the past and we would be again.

edit on 31-3-2013 by HelenConway because: (no reason given)

Global choas, starvation and mass death from disease are blown out proportion? What you have to do is recreate society from scratch. And add to that tons of gangs and groups well armed who simply enslave whomever was left. Life was hard and day to day before electrcity add to that 8 billion people rotting in the streets and disease unheard of spreading like wild fire.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by HelenConway

 

I don't know where you live but like I said my town has around 80k people, do you think 80 thousand people can do the same by hunting rabbits? how long does that food take to grow? what If your crop fails? what If someone takes your crops because they are starving?

Enjoying this thread BTW.

Ok so this is the scenerio - - right the lights go out tonight , never to turn on ....

Yes it would be a nightmare, yes there would be panic - but we are clever, we are organised, we are resourceful, we will transcend this and adapt.

There may be problems initially I dont know how 80000 people get fed right now ?

I do know that London had a population of a million in the 1800s and they were all fed - before electricity.

Britains population was 46 million in 1900 - most of them born before mainstream electricity - how were they fed ?

Answer me that ?

Have we devolved so far in 100 years that we cannot even feed ourselves without electrcity ?

I think not.

reply to post by MrSpad


I believe this is not true. We fed ourselves before we had lights - we will do so again.
Much of the world does not have mainstream electricity now on a regular basis - they cope.

It would take organisation and participation and team effort - but as I said, I have faith that we have the ability, brains and know how to thrive despite a loss of the grid.



London 1850s



New York 1850s

Farms 1850s



Do they look disorganised and full of angst and mayhem to you ?

Originally posted by boymonkey74

Originally posted by ohioriver
reply to post by HelenConway

 

I agree. And no the store shelves would not be empty for long. We transported goods in wagons for a long time before cars.It would actually create more jobs too.

How will you make those wagons quick enough to feed the masses? how are you going to get the amount of horses needed to pull those wagons before everyone started to starve? how are you going to keep the food fresh? think it through again.

Locally made food. Locally made transport,Locally,locally locally.

reply to post by HelenConway


Yes we have moved on and we could not feed 46 million of us without electricity, to get everyone to try and live like we did when before electricity would be impossible we do not have the structures in place to go back and live like that.
It doesn't matter that they used too It matters that we can not go back because we have not got the skills to do so.
Like I said how are you going to get everyone to work together without communications? what happens in Halifax will be different to what happens in Nottingham.
It would go back to medieval times local lords who have the biggest stick and who were wise enough to get their hands on goods just after the panic.
People will turn savage...have you ever been starving? do you understand what people will do If they and their famiy are starving? I can imagine....
Crime and punishment would turn into the death penalty for the smallest crime because we could not afford to waste food on prisoners.
One day we may get civilization back but not before we had turned back to savagely because It would be survival of the fittest again.

Some people would adjust just fine while a large majority would be totally out of their element.

Personally for anyone that thinks going back to the dark ages is a good thins is totally ignorant. You know the millions of people that make their livings on power, technology, IT, whatever I am sure would disagree with you.

reply to post by HelenConway


Yes and all that would require time lot's of time to organize etc but what about the meantime? millions of people wandering the countryside like locust eating anything they find...millions dead from starvation, disease and violence.
It is fine saying we would all band together but that will only happen after the weakest have died.
I just can not understand how you can say we will be better for it...millions dead, you can die from a scratch...come on think people....If this happens and you think you will be able to count on your fellow man while he is starving you will be one of the ones who die.

Originally posted by ohioriver

Originally posted by boymonkey74

Originally posted by ohioriver
reply to post by HelenConway

 

I agree. And no the store shelves would not be empty for long. We transported goods in wagons for a long time before cars.It would actually create more jobs too.

How will you make those wagons quick enough to feed the masses? how are you going to get the amount of horses needed to pull those wagons before everyone started to starve? how are you going to keep the food fresh? think it through again.

agreed but even in the 1850s quite sophisticated distribution networks were in use - food was transported to and from all over the world - such as sugar / potatoes / olive oil etc.

So in actual fact life would not be so different from now bar a revival in merchant shipping.

Locally made food. Locally made transport,Locally,locally locally.

reply to post by boymonkey74


My point is we could feed 46 million of us without the grid - we have done so before and we can do so again.

It was possible then it is possible now.

I am sorry monkey that you think we are so backward that we could not survive well but I disagree - in part.

I do think however that our society allows useless individuals to thrive and these free loaders would not have had such a free ride 100 years ago. They would be the ones causing trouble.

reply to post by HelenConway


In 1900 we had a million working horses, how many working horses do we have now? not many (remember a working horse is different than a normal riding horse).
Many of the horses would be killed and eaten in the first couple of months also.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by HelenConway

 

Yes and all that would require time lot's of time to organize etc but what about the meantime? millions of people wandering the countryside like locust eating anything they find...millions dead from starvation, disease and violence.
It is fine saying we would all band together but that will only happen after the weakest have died.
I just can not understand how you can say we will be better for it...millions dead, you can die from a scratch...come on think people....If this happens and you think you will be able to count on your fellow man while he is starving you will be one of the ones who die.

I am not saying I am turning the grid off or that it is a good thing as such - I am asking what would happen if it did indeed occur.

I do not think millions would die - but I think we will have to agree to disagree.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by HelenConway

 

In 1900 we had a million working horses, how many working horses do we have now? not many (remember a working horse is different than a normal riding horse).
Many of the horses would be killed and eaten in the first couple of months also.

yea well that would be our karma for murdering those horses and sending them to war - we would deserve everything we got for that.

Originally posted by opethPA
Some people would adjust just fine while a large majority would be totally out of their element.

Personally for anyone that thinks going back to the dark ages is a good thins is totally ignorant. You know the millions of people that make their livings on power, technology, IT, whatever I am sure would disagree with you.

I did not say it was a good thing per se - do you think that the internet going out would also cause millions to die.

That ascertion is just laughable IMO - and yes I have heard people say that too.

reply to post by HelenConway


It is possible If we had time to sort ourselves out but in this scenario the electricity just goes out no warning...look at what happened during Katrina...panic.
This is 2013 not 1800 when people were brought up in those condition's, we depend on electricity to do more or less everything.
True some of us can live of the land for a few weeks (my record was 3 weeks never trying that again) but most people wouldn't know what to do and turn to desperate measures to feed themselves and those they loved.

But lets just hope it doesn't happen because who knows If I was starving I may just have to eat you and before you say I couldn't do that, you have never been starving and starving people do do drastic things.


Watch the Road btw good film shows the human condition when SHTF.

Originally posted by HelenConway

Originally posted by opethPA
Some people would adjust just fine while a large majority would be totally out of their element.

Personally for anyone that thinks going back to the dark ages is a good thins is totally ignorant. You know the millions of people that make their livings on power, technology, IT, whatever I am sure would disagree with you.

I did not say it was a good thing per se - do you think that the internet going out would also cause millions to die.

That ascertion is just laughable IMO - and yes I have heard people say that too.

Nope..if the internet went offline it most likely wouldn;t cause anyone to die. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a bit too caught up in the AnonymousMatrixsave the world dream.

The facts are though a very large portion of the working force of all countries depend on electricity and technology so I am sure that large number wouldnt want to lost power.

reply to post by boymonkey74


I do not think so - we have people who can work the land they are called farmers.
We have the police and the army to maintain order.

Katrina is not comparable - they were trying to survive in flood water, marooned - not the same thing.

If the grid went out we would adapt and food may be short for a while but we would cope.

Anyone going tropo would not be helpful.

We have the knowhow and the skills to survive and ultimately thrive .. that all I am saying.

I am also saying the way we live today is, empty and unhealthy and sad in so many ways.

I am also saying - I guess, I really really admire my forefathers ..

reply to post by HelenConway


How are you going to call the police? how is the government going to contact and use the army?
How is that farmer going to get a plow and a working horse when we do not have enough horses which can pull that plow.

Yes we would survive but to think we would be ok after 18 months is just wrong...It would be a living hell for us all.
Anyhow I will leave here now and let the ATS survival experts have their say.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by HelenConway

 

How are you going to call the police? how is the government going to contact and use the army?
How is that farmer going to get a plow and a working horse when we do not have enough horses which can pull that plow.

Yes we would survive but to think we would be ok after 18 months is just wrong...It would be a living hell for us all.

edit on 31-3-2013 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

Are we so pathetic in your opinion that we would all go mad when the lights went out.

I just do not believe that - I think we have enough of our forefathers intelligence to be fine, ultimately.

We will have to agree to disagree - but I will add that we did have an army and navy and a police force before electrcity and guess what we also had money as a form of exchange for goods and services.

We will agree to disagree.

peace