Turning the lights back on...

[Jack]

Not all the utilities Paul, just the most vital to survival, the rest will come as they do.
If an event was so big as to wipe out the kind of numbers that would be needed to destroy all knowledge in every field of modern day comforts then new-old ways of thinking as you've suggested closer to the earth will be more effective until lost skills are rediscovered or the once modern world is reduced to ruin.
I'm also not suggesting that I will take up a personal crusade to be a new world saviour. But to pose the question on how people see this being accomplished and in what priority?

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Ahaha I thought you might like that

[bigpaul]

if all knowledge is lost how on earth do you start technology again? you would have to learn all the basics again from wiring a plug upwards, with no experts, no handbooks and no charts, i think that would take centuries! what i envisage eventually is a return to a very small village type life with the emphasis on growing food, the cities would be in ruins and uninhabitable and eventually nature would reclaim them.

[Jack]

I said IF they had then living the way you described would be one of if not the only option being "closer to the earth".
But believe there will be enough residual collective knowledge to restart the cogs of industry and keep us in the light

[Highlander]

I have to assume that the way the thread has gone, that we are talking about a world wide disaster, because if it is only this country, or just part of this country, then we will have no say anyway, because forces from elsewhere will enter the theater, and they will do what they deem to be the most important.

If its a world disaster, and no-one is coming to help, then I would say getting the electric power back on to the areas that need it the most, probably the ones with the biggest populations, from that point on, all things will return at some point

To bring in your point BP about returning to a more down to earth way of living,...it is a nice thought I agree, but its a kind of life that would be great if you are twenty years old, fit and able to live the good life,...it would be very hard for anyone over the age of,..say 50yrs, medically disadvantaged or someone without the knowledge to live that way, the life would be hard, and no-one here is anywhere near to a `complete` life of the pre electric world, `ON A LONG TERM BASIS`,.. many of us could do it short term, by that I mean a couple of good years, but it would only take one bad year to kill you

[Jack]

Yes highlander a world wide event, no help, aid or occupation is coming.
I also think power would be the greatest benefit for the same reasons, but would also pose the most problems as far as having the right people to operate such an instillation. It wouldn't be impossible as with enough research we can learn how to power up, but to do so safely in modern plants would require 0% room for trial and error.
An uneducated guess, being that coal powered stations would be simpler to operate I'd start there.

[Highlander]

You can almost guarantee that no matter how few survives there are, there will still be someone capable of doing each needed job,... getting the power on means not just having a survivor from Scottish Power of from Midlands Electric,... but almost any electrician is going to have the basis knowledge to do the job.

Mind you it would not do us a lot of good up here, as I said before they would only connect the largest populations,..and the Highlands would never see the lights on again,... for years after most of the UK

[Tarrel]

Quote:In my region TPTB install utilities and REQUIRE mandatory hookup with minimum payments monthly.

If you refuse to hook up your property is condemned, seized and sold.

If you do not pay your bill they shut you down and bring in Social Services to check your mental state.

Holy cow! Are you serious?

[I-K-E]

turning on a power station .... most modern stations are build so an operator can't screw it up

BUT if how would you get the fuel to them as them need a hell of a lot to feed the current grid?

With a massive event there is not going to be commercial coal mines on the other side of the earth shipping coal across the oceans. And that is the same for any of the things that you would consider turning back on.

Personally I'd be looking at clean water and sanitation but build it up from what was left. Basic medical would be important too and it would be interesting to get some sort of basic drug processing up and running. But this is assuming that survivors start coming together so it would be happening a good long while after the chaos that reduces the population and in this senario you'll be looking at specialisation so it would need to be a working community and a working barter or cash system .

Basic electricity yes but only small scale and only for important things and that would not be first.

[Highlander]

We have a heck of a lot of hydro schemes here, with the amount of rain we get and the mountainous terrain,.. its the perfect power supply,... those should be easy to operate, although I dont know this for sure

[Jack]

I'm hoping to negate the need of being on the grid with a few wind mills and battery banks as my situation favours this method.

I overlooked fuelling the stations... (Moron)... Though the UK still has a HUGE wealth of coal in existing mines, just need the man power to mine it out ("just" heh).

Iv seen some of the hydro schemes you touched on highlander, there's some really interesting things happening north of the border in that area.
I'm in agreement that there will be people left over with the knowledge to operate systems like these, but I didn't know that a sparkies, all be it impressive talents could stretch to operating a power plant... Though I see the logic, I can rebuild an engine and can operate a mill so it wouldn't be a giant leap to produce something out of my workshop that resembled something like that. After lots of attempts and a steep learning curve of course.

Seems like electric is getting the most attention with water/sanitation (are these hand in hand or separate installations?) coming a close, or parallel second