Life without Electricity! Sounds torturous and unacceptable. Our lives are so dependent on electricity that even an hour of electricity cut seems like a never-ending time. More than ever before, we need electricity for almost all our works, from smallest chores like charging a mobile phone to powering industrial units. Science and technology have progressed with leaps and bounds making our lives more comfortable than ever before. Yesteryears luxury is a necessity today. Not everyone had electricity supply, in its initial development. As electricity became surplus, so did its supply and its varied applications which improved all aspects of our lives. Electronic gadgets for all the needs and comforts of our lives arrived like ‘An Angel to a Rescue’. No wonder that it increased our productivity, comfort and safety but it also made us its slave. Look around you, everything runs on electricity. The fan which gives you air, the speakers from which you hear music, the mobile phone with which you communicate et al. require electricity. Sitting in front of your PC doing your work or watching television, you suddenly become irritated when the power goes out. If its night, it is dark all around and if it is a day it’s hot without a fan or AC.  The power cut is, even more, a nightmare for industrial establishments as they have a target to achieve and for how many hours can their generator support, even it has its limitations.

A World without Electricity

There are Two-Pronged Scenarios to this situation:

• One in which the World never had Electricity.
• Second in which humanity exhausted all its Electricity | Cons | Pros

Life in which the World never had Electricity

• Ancient methods of Medicine: The world would be highly dependent on customary or conventional methods of treatment for diseases and ailments. Preservation of blood, tissues, organs etc. would be hard to achieve. Medical procedures dependent on electrical energy would never have been initiated.
• Basic Communication: Communication will be still basic. Postal mail, pigeon carriers, personal couriers etc. would still be used to facilitate communication. No emails, no wireless, no mobile communication would exist.
• No World Changing Revolutions: No Industrialisation, Green Revolution, White Revolution, IT Revolution etc. would have happened without electricity. All these revolutions have relied on the electric power supply to become successful and be implemented globally.
• Less Productivity: Electric supply is the major reason we are able to work or run our businesses 24/7. Without electricity, most of the work would have to be completed during the daytime as working at night would be harder and dangerous. Less working hours mean less productivity.
• Less Socialisation of the World: The adage ‘World is a Global Village’ wouldn’t exist at all. As travel wouldn’t be as easy as it is now, the world would be less connected with each other than it is right now. Very few people would be able to travel overseas.
• Fewer Sources of Entertainment: There would be fewer sources of entertainment. All the Xbox's, Playstations, televisions, music players, movie players, computers, no multiplexes, shopping malls, theme parks and alike wouldn’t exist at all.
• Physically Active Lifestyle: When most of the most work would be done through manpower, people will be physically active. Their hard work itself would become their workout. They wouldn’t need gyms and sorts just to have a healthy body. Most of the lifestyle diseases wouldn’t exist at all.
• Revolution of Need-Based Gadgets: The modern world is full of gadgets which serve to entertain us rather than facilitate our lives. There are so many luxury items that we really don’t need. These items have become our necessity because of their aggressive advertisement which entices into buying these. Scientists would indulge in creating life-enhancing gadgets than those meant for luxury.
• Shorter Shelf Life of Food Products: Apart from the basic food preservation techniques, food products wouldn’t have a long shelf life. They would perish easily and would need to be consumed within a shorter span of time, limiting its transport and widespread distribution.
• Slower Transportation: Transportation wouldn’t be as fast as we have today. No fast electric trains, speedier aeroplanes or fast cars. Most of the mediums of transportation require some electricity to function effectively or efficiently.

Life without Electricity due to its Exhaustion

It is hard to imagine a day without electricity and a life with no electricity, is a terrible thought but a thought-provoking one; one which should be considered to know our options and strategies in the wake of an actual power crisis. The below-mentioned points are presented keeping in mind the exhaustion of conventional sources of electricity and the fact that humanity is already developing renewable sources of energy.

Life with no Electricity: Negative Effects

• Costlier Manpower: Work of all sorts would require man force in the absence of electricity. Countries which offered cheap labour will now command high prices as the machines won’t be as effective as they were. Manpower will become a major force and even more costly where labour is already highly paid. It also implies the unemployment of native labour and employment of overseas man force.
• Closure of Large Industries: Industries won’t be able to work properly or effectively without electricity. They require a high capacity of electric supply and will have to close down or reduce their operations in the absence or lack of electricity.
• The collapse of Economies: Closure of industries mean crippled economies. Each economy is dependent on the other partially or wholly. So when one gets affected the other gets affected too.
• A decrease in Productivity: Almost all the machines run on electric power. In the absence of electricity, industries won’t be able to save time due to automated machines. This will have a negative impact on the productivity of any production centre.
• Environmental Concerns: Non-availability of Electricity also raises environmental concerns. In order to meet their requirements, people would start indulging in cutting wood, hunting and poaching animals, start damaging primitive farming, clear green cover and so on. This would happen on a large scale without giving the nature the time to heal itself.  The governments will too indulge in such activities as there would be hardly any viable option left.
• Electrical Equipment will become Junk: Electric ovens, refrigerators, AC’s, laptops, gaming consoles, washing machines, lighting equipment, medical equipment and others will face a death sentence. They will be found more in the garbage than in homes.
• Few Sources of Entertainment: Entertainment industry will also be the hardest hit and so will the audiences. Virtual gaming, electric roller coasters, home theatre etc. won’t be able to entertain us any longer.
• More Dependency on Non-renewable Energy: A Major portion of the world population still uses coal, wood, animal waste and akin to their daily chores. Those dependent on electricity will be forced to do the same. It will result in high dependency on the same and will further deepen the energy crisis as these resources take time to replenish.
• Short Life Expectancy: Hospitals and clinics will become less effective. Without electricity, certain life-saving surgeries and treatments will not be able to save the old and ailing. This will result in high death rates. Disease control may become ineffective and inadequate in the uselessness of electric machinery used for such purposes.
• A Threat of War: All the weapons and armoury heavily or partially dependent on electricity will stand redundant. Those whose arsenal has no or less electricity requirement will have a better position and may resort to settle some old scores.

A World without Electricity: Positive Effects

• Active Lifestyle: To a large extent, the scarcity or absence of electricity will make us more physically active. The time we spend on our entertainment by sitting in front of T.V, gaming consoles, net surfing and chatting etc. will be spent in outdoor activities which require physical movement of the body. Other chores will have to be done manually or mechanically which will also result in bodily movement.
• Cost Effective Renewable Sources of Energy: The non-renewable electric dependent organisations will be forced to look for viable options. These options are known to mankind for a long time but the efforts towards have been sluggish. Further enhancements and research towards these will make them available to all. Mass usage will result in mass production and consequently, these will become cost effective as well.
• Conservation of Environment: Electricity from the sun, wind, friction, tides, water etc. will become the major sources of energy. This will reduce the dependency on coal, wood, natural gas, oil etc. It implies more greenery and lesser destruction of the environment. Also, the energy derived from renewable sources of energy is largely pollution free which will result in the conservation of the environment.
• Conservation of Resources: Administrations of the world will finally realise and make it mandatory to conserve energy sources. Those who do not adhere to energy saving laws would be penalised. Judicious use of energy will not only serve the present but the future as well.
• Electricity from Organisms:  We all know that all organisms have electricity in their bodies. Only we don’t know how to extract it effectively and without cruelty. There are many animals which use electricity to hunt or in their own defence, such as the electric eel, torpedo fish and electric catfish. Research and development in these areas can enable us to produce a substantial amount of energy. Human bodies can also be used to harvest electricity in a positive manner.
• More Value and Respect for Human Labour: Large-scale redundancy of electrically powered machines will result in a high value of manual labour especially in third world countries. In most of the world manual labour is looked with an inferior eye. The demand for man force will automatically raise its value and its respect to many folds.
• The Rise of Third World Countries: Third world countries have the highest population in the world. This population is power in itself especially the younger ones. The third world countries suffer from poverty due to all reasons. The need for manpower for skilled, semi-skilled or otherwise will grow. Economical progress implies national growth and the third world countries will get a chance to rise to a level where they are at par with super nations reducing inequalities of all types.
• Responsible Public Attitude: We all need a lesson, rather a good one. We waste a lot of electric energy during our lifespan. We turn on the fan and forget to turn it off. We use it without considering the future consequences. The tendency ‘We pay for it so we can use it as we wish to’ only makes the matter worse. Misuse of electricity by corrupt elements remains unchecked; there’s no accountability for it. There are strong contrasts, regions which don’t have an electric supply at all and regions which have more power than their required share. Perhaps, humanity will realise its mistakes and make amends for such sorts of crisis.
• World Peace and Unity: Energy crisis will be a worldwide phenomenon, the gravity of its effect may vary but they are pertinent. The authorities of the world will have to resolve their conflicts in a hope to overcome the most relevant issue at hand. There is strength in unity and it will be realised at the most pivotal point. A collaboration of minds will become a necessity, thereby fostering conducive relationships for peace and unity.