p10, v16.05 — Best Friends and More

Best Friends and More

Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 29, 2022

MVNews this week: Page 10

Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 29, 2022

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

HOW TO SURVIVE NO ELECTRICITY FOR
AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME,

AND HOW TO DEAL WITH NO ACCESS
TO BANK ACCOUNTS AND MONEY

[Nyerges has been teaching and writing about self-reliance and emergency preparedness for over
40 years. He’s written “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Extreme Simplicity,” “Guide to Wild Foods
and Useful Plants,” and other books. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]

We’ve all grown accustomed to electricity in our lives. Some say we’re addicted. However
you see it, modern life as we know it would cease to exist without the steady flow of electrons.
But most of us have so acclimated our lives to the availability of electricity that it’s hard to
imagine any life without it. We flip the switch and we have light, or a TV, or radio, or the
computer, and a whole host of power tools for our shop and yard. Modern banking would
not exist without electricity, nor would modern communication.

We’re fortunate that so many inroads have been made to de-centralize electricity, at least for
those who choose to educate themselves and build little systems so they can get off the grid,
a little or a lot, and be able to have power if the whole grid goes down.

Ted Koppel (from the popular Nightline TV news show) wrote a book called “Lights Out”
where he explored what it might take for a terrorist to take down what are essentially three
grids in the U.S. Though he points out that this would not be easy, it could be done. Koppel
also points out, perhaps to the dismay of the reader, that there is really no meaningful action
plan to deal with such an eventuality.

We have no crystal ball, but let’s just look at life without electricity, and explore the way in
which we would live.

THE TRANSITION

If electricity were to “go out,” suddenly without warning – especially for a prolonged period
of time -- the results would be disastrous in today’s society, though a prepared person would
be better able to survive.

First, there would be widespread panic as the means of communication – except word of
mouth – would be eliminated. The lack of communication means much more than not
knowing what happened. It means that whatever method you’ve relied upon to communicate
with your family, students, fellow workers, etc., will now be gone.

Rural areas would do somewhat better, for a variety of reasons. Bells and other sounding devices
could be used for communications, as could fires on hilltops, but these systems all took
time in the past to develop. A clear method of communication would not be established immediately,
and I can visualize a brisk business in bicycle couriers who hand-delivered notes.

You should always discuss the day’s plans with family members and discuss action plans, and
where to gather, in the event of an emergency.

MONEY

Too many of us rely on the ability to go to a bank regularly and use the ATMs. Plus, have you
ever watched at your local store how people buy things? Most people use credit cards all the
time, which is a modern marvel of technology that can only exist in an inter-connected world
powered by electricity.

People have always figured out how to buy and sell and trade, even before there was electricity.
But in a transition to no electricity, people might not have access to their money, maybe
temporarily, and maybe permanently, depending on the nature of the emergency.

People in rural area’s have quite an advantage over people in the urban centers since they are
more likely to know where all their needs are coming from. They are more likely to be producers
of a raw commodity, with which they can directly trade for needs.

In urban areas, however, everyone tends to buy everything that’s needed, and any food, animal,
or craft production is nearly always “hobby” level. A major disaster that takes out electricity
will take out the ability for most urban people to conduct ordinary transactions. During
the interim, people should band together for protection, because you can expect violence,
chaos, and unpredictability during such a period, until people figure out a new way of doing
things.

Do not underestimate the severe impact that lack of access to money will have on your life
and society. My suggestion is to constantly have it in the back of your mind, “what would I
do if I could not get cash today? What can I do differently each day to be better prepared if
that ever happened?” There are many options, such as always having extra cash and coin on
hand, well hidden of course. And always purchasing a little more of the basics that you need
so you have something extra for barter, if need be. In times of duress, such as war times, the
best barter items tend to be those that feed the vices: alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, sugar, salt,
all of which have a great shelf life.