It's hard to imagine life in the 21st century without electricity. But a man made or a natural disaster could cause a power outage, which may last for an extended period of time, sending us back to the 1800s (pre-industrial level of technology). In the case of a complete power grid crash, repairs to the grid conceivably would take years to repair. However, there has been talk of building a smart grid across the U.S. with an estimated cost of over 400 billion during a 20 year period.

Day to day life in the city and surrounding suburban areas would increasingly become a more dangerous place to live. However, people living in rural areas who have access to cultivatable land, fresh water wells and some type of alternative energy device will have a better chance of satisfying their everyday needs for survival.

What would you do in this situation? Why not prepare yourself, friends and family for a situation where the electrical power grid crashes. I'm talking about a power outage for an extended period of time. In case this happens, you'll stand a better chance of retaining basic electrical needs such as the ability to keep food from spoiling, a supply of electricity to the pump of a fresh water well or having hot water available at a moments notice.

Modern technology has caused us to take for granted so much. We assume that there will always be electricity so that at any time we can brew a pot of hot coffee, have hot water for our showers, cook a meal on the stove or run up to the ATM machine and get cash. We expect to have our homes heated in the winter and cooled during summer.

Those temporary power outages, which I'm sure you've experience before are definitely an inconvenience. It is at times like those that you realize your dependency on electric power, right?

In an emergency, it may not be possible to get fuel for the traditional gasoline or diesel backup generators. But, if you knew how to implement one or two of the many "Off Grid" electrical systems, finding fossil fuel for a backup generator would not be an issue.

The current power grid was not designed to meet the needs of today’s modern electric marketplace and the increasing demands of a digital society. Today you can plug-in a lamp or any appliance into an outlet in the wall and get electricity on demand. Tomorrow, you may not have that luxury, because of a power outage. Will you be prepared?