BEFORE ELECTRICITY.

I bet right now you are wondering - why has Auriel inserted a candlelight dinner scene when she's going to talk about life BEFORE ELECTRICITY?

My generation lived in the age of electricity. But, before 1752, electricity did not exist. It was by accident that it was discovered by a man we see on this 100-dollar bill.

He was conducting an experiment to prove the connection between electricity and lightning. 

But even before this. in the 17th and early 18th centuries, scientists like Otto von Guericke, Robert Boyle, Stephen Gray and C.F.du Fay were conducting experiments in this branch of physics.

But even before this, in 1600, William Gilbert, an English scientist had already made a careful study of electricity and magnetism.

BEFORE ELECTRICITY, candles and whale oil lamps (oil from the blubber of whales) provided most of the artificial lighting.

Later on, kerosene lamps became more popular. All the liquid fuel lamps used a wick which burned providing more light than a single candle could. The light from fireplaces helped as well.

Gas lighting was common in the cities and larger towns, supplemented by candles and oil lamps, but in smaller towns and villages and in the countryside lighting remained almost exclusively by candles and oil lamps.

In the early 1900’s, around the time of World War I, electricity started to become available in individual homes. Electricity meant that washboards, oil lanterns, and ice boxes were out and washing machines, light bulbs and refrigerators were in. Electricity made many chores easier but created a new cost that people didn’t pay before. 

Adding electricity to our daily lives also started adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than humans had ever done before. (Saving energy whenever we can by choosing alternatives will help to reduce our ecological footprints).

Coming back to life WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, chores had to done manually. No running water to waste. One had to pump or draw water and carry it home, sometimes walking large distances to get to a water source. No dishwasher, no washing machine. No refrigerator. Food has to eaten fresh or canned. In rural areas, farming was manual. The family woke up when the alarm went off at 4 am. Cock-a-doodle-doo! And the day ended when the sun went down. Huddling in the kitchen around oil lamps or tallow candles, families said their night prayers, had supper and by 8 pm, they were in bed. No TV, no mobiles. No fun???

There are still some remote parts of the planet where there is no ELECTRICITY. Tribal and indigenous people still hunt and fish, and follow the rhythm of nature. 

Then there are people who choose to live without ELECTRICITY even though they can afford it and it's easily accessible. Its called LIVING OFF THE GRID. Some environmentalists also have adopted this lifestyle choosing to power their homes and gadgets with solar energy instead.  

HOW THE AMISH LIVE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY

The Amish community is famed worldwide for their plain clothes and use of horse-drawn buggies. They do not own cars, nor do they have electricity.  They say that by eliminating electricity, they avoid the temptations that the radio, TV and Internet bring into their homes. They also feel that too much reliance on labor-saving devices may deprive children of character-building opportunities to work.

Living Off the Grid

The three basic survival requirements of water, food and shelter are done by either living close to a stream or collecting rainwater, cultivation of food around the home or foraging, and designing eco-friendly tiny homes. They become adept at hunting, fishing, gardening, farming, composting, land management. They have to learn survival skills and emergency first aid. All possessions must last a long time and therefore there can be no THROW-AWAY items like disposables. Its all about self-sufficiency and sometimes it can get lonely as families live as remotely from the outside world as they can. Since they need to use power only for basic chores, they do not possess TV or Internet.  

What can you and I do to conserve electricity in our homes? By being aware that, although we have it in abundance like running water, it comes with a cost. And I don't mean money here. Our consumption impacts our planet in a big way. How efficiently we use this source of power must be proof of our wisdom.  Simple things like turning off lights when not needed, completing tasks before sunset, sitting together in one room instead of everyone scattered throughout the house, etc. will go a long way in conservation and it will also reduce the electrical bill. But, more importantly, lets reduce the use of electric gadgets as far as possible. 

And, it wouldn't be bad to have a ROMANTIC CANDLELIGHT DINNER once in a while. What do you think??