We are used to dividing time into two different eons: “B.C.” and “A.D.” or as the secular world now calls them, “BCE” and “CE.” To say we live in 2009 A.D. or C.E. gives us a sense of the passage of time, a feeling of where we stand in the flow of events. But such designations don’t distinguish much else about the changes the centuries have brought.

After a fearsome November storm season across North America it seems one designation that might help describe the changes time has brought is to divide life “B.E.” and “A.E.” — “Before Electricity” and “After Electricity.” There is nothing like an extended power outage to remind us just how dependent we are on the power grid for our life-styles and livelihoods.

When the power goes out everything is work. Making a cup of coffee requires a fire…