Imagine this scenario: one day the world’s entire power suddenly goes off. 15 years later it still hasn’t come back on. How would you survive? That is the question being posed by NBC‘s upcoming TV show launching this fall. The series is called Revolution and follows the lives of different individuals, families and communities as they struggle to survive in a world without power and electricity.

In this preview, we will consider how life would be like without everyday items such as computers, TVs, smartphones, the internet and electricity. Without power, almost every aspect of our current lifestyle would be different. The way we communicate, how we travel, our entertainment, our lighting and heating and how we cook would all be changed forever. Let us now consider a world without power and see how you would cope without the following:

Working without power

Almost all of the working population use power in our working day. So how would we go about our jobs with electricity? Most jobs would become obsolete immediately without power. Train drivers, TV producers, Computer engineers, the list is endless – for most office PC based roles there would no longer be jobs. Even for the roles that don’t require power or who could operate without it, for example a fashion store assistant, would become obsolete because few customers would be visiting at any rate. Consider your current job for a moment; would you be able to perform it without power?

Education without power

Our schools and colleges take power for granted and have done so for over a century. However without power, our education system would be severely compromised. In order to continue to function, our education would be restricted initially by heating issues and lighting. School and College hours would be constrained by sunlight and temperatures, with our education system likely operating throughout summer and closing over winter months. Lessons would be basic, with chalkboards and pencil/paper being used to teach throughout schools and colleges. Calculators would of course not work either, so you would really need to learn your multiplication tables.

Communicating without power

Social networks would immediately disappear along with the rest of the internet, should power suddenly be removed from our lives. Facebook and Twitter would become distant memories and we would have to return to more natural communication methods. The psychological impact of not being able to call someone would be too much for many of the population, so used to a world of telephony. We would return to basic verbal communication. If you need to speak to your friend across town then you would need to walk. For further afield communication we would have to use messages. Either by using birds like pigeons or dedicated messengers on horseback, we may be able to communicate outside our towns. But personal International communication would be almost impossible; we would never know what was happening in other countries or receive any warnings such as Tsunamis and Earthquakes.

Entertainment without power

With widespread depression caused by loss of power, mankind would need some form of entertainment. Think about the current entertainment methods you enjoy? Could you continue to experience them without power? TV, Film, Web Browsing, Video Games and most Music would be wiped out instantly. In its place we would have to look at more basic entertainment. Card and paper board games, musical instruments and old paper books would be the new form of entertainment. Hobbies would become too important to just enjoy, for example cycling everyday would become essential and fishing would be for food rather than recreational purposes. Think about your top 3 types of entertainment? Could you do them right now without power?

These are just a few of the scenarios and challenges we would face in a world without power and should provide some food for thought. Speaking of Food, this would become the single greatest resource on the planet. We would all likely have bland diets, depending on our locations and abilities to farm. Most communities would become farm like villages and we would spend more time than ever before producing basic food and growing vegetables. Cooking would always be over a fire and refrigeration would only be an option for those living in Antarctica.

The Revolution TV series should ask some interesting questions when it begins on Monday September 17th 2012 on NBC. Tune in to witness some of these dreadful scenarios in action.