Reflections on energy and our future

CALIFORNIA – We lived without electricity for a few days. The wind blew, trees fell, and people lost connection to the electric grid. There was still natural gas for cooking and heating water, comforts that made it bearable with no electricity. For those without wood stoves, it was a cold couple of days.

Lots of supermarket frozen food was thrown away from the lack of power. Frozen food thaws when the electricity goes down. Hardware stores sold out of generators, and people struggled with how to keep food cold and lights on. Some folks enjoyed an evening or so of romantic candlelight dinners, but then what?

What do you do with yourself on a long winter night without electricity?

One can’t face a situation of no electricity without thinking of the past — what did people do before electricity was so easy, and so dependable? Only 100 years ago it was a novelty. Without electricity at night, most likely people gathered around a fire, played instruments, and socialized more. They must have gotten more sleep. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)