They used to be called preppers. Survivalists. Doomsteaders. Bunker builders. Dismissed with a shake of the head.

Lately, though, catastrophe feels not so far off. There’s a billionaire bunker builder in the White House, where the East Wing was torn down as much to make way for a giant bomb shelter below as to add more space and grandeur above.

Meanwhile, in his hastily conceived, surprise! war with Iran, President Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s critical energy infrastructure, then Iran itself. The whole thing.

As we know, the U.S. is abandoning NATO, failing to stand by Ukraine, and threatens fairly frequently to invade both Greenland and Canada.

During its elections, also this month, Vice President JD Vance was in Hungary to demonstrate U.S. support for a dictatorial and corrupt regime acting in the interests of Russia.

Charlie Angus, who is good at calling things by their names, describes Canada’s predicament: “we share a vast, undefended border with a nation that is no longer under the rule of law. We are coming to terms with a gangster state — one determined to undermine allies and use intimidation to gain control of our nation’s wealth.”

We live in an increasingly unstable world, to put it politely. It feels like we cannot count on anything anymore. Climate change in the County brings with it not just endless rain, but heightened possibilities for flooding, forest fires, drought, even hurricanes. The chances of another global pandemic, I am told, are “medium to high.” Meanwhile, our government is newly focused on exerting itself “to defend Canada’s Arctic and North.” We are investing $34.7 billion “to deter threats, and support NATO Allies and NORAD continental defence.”

A sign of the times is the recent meteoric rise of “prediction markets” — also known as “death markets.” They offer real-time gambling on real-life catastrophe, everything from whether the Strait of Hormuz will open or close today, to how many times President Trump will post on Truth Social in one night. They  are addiction markets, designed to profit not just from moral and political chaos but from the anxiety it creates. 

Nor are they only a Trump phenomenon: WealthSimple has received regulatory approval to open a limited prediction market in Canada; it will allow betting on economic indicators, financial markets, and “climate trends.”

I’m not writing these things to be alarming. Rather, I’m trying to understand how we are all feeling, why, and what we can do about it. If the preternaturally placid Steve Paiken can launch a podcast called “World on Edge” — episodes have titles like “No More Nato?” and “WTF UK?” — I find, perhaps paradoxically, some comfort. It’s not just me. Everyone is alarmed.

You, too, might be realizing you are on edge, subliminally worried that an invasion — of Canada, of the County, whatever — could happen at any time, anywhere, and take any form. Drones. Disinformation. Dystopia.

That’s where ReadyPEC comes in. Our very own Preppers. They are on it. A community-led initiative, its members started to meet in earnest in January. They are our survivalists, leading the way in preparing for a catastrophe close to home. I joined a committee meeting last week and, strangely, found myself calmed. Considering practical questions about gallons of water and flashlight batteries, alongside most likely, least likely, and worst-case scenarios, reined in free-floating anxiety, focused it, and put it to work.

Did you know there are 36-hour candles? Hand-crank generators? Hand cranks?

The hazards identified by emergency preparedness experts are of three broad kinds: natural, accidental, and intentional. But we prepare for all of them the same way.

In the past decade, the County has been in three separate states of emergency, the flooding of 2017, the Covid pandemic of 2020-22, and the blizzard of Christmas 2022, which shut down roads and power across the island for three or more days.

There was also a fuel oil spill in Picton Bay that shut down the drinking water supply to both Picton and Bloomfield for a week, also in 2017. 

It makes sense, and it helps, to be prepared. That means considering what to do if critical infrastructure — power, internet, fuel, and communications — fails to function.

Breaking down the problem makes it easier to solve. There are two ways to prepare.  The first involves making an emergency preparedness kit. Carson Arthur — a member of ReadyPEC, and a gardener turned food security expert; he is now teaching people how to grow their own food — details what that involves on page 16 of this issue. It is very simple. Water. Tinned or other preserved food. A can opener. Blankets. Medications. Think about what you would most need, and maybe just want, and make sure it is put aside in a safe, easily discoverable place in the event of an emergency.

The second way is transformative. It means connecting your household to your neighbourhood, to ensure your neighbourhood is prepared should normal communications networks, from roads to the internet to cell towers, go down. Household by household, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, this community needs to organize to be prepared for disaster. Each neighbourhood needs to identify a place to meet or warming spot. A list of key contacts. A system to communicate with those most vulnerable. Think over your unique household, neighbourhood, and challenges to start to be prepared, and to connect with everyone else.

At the Gazette, we are working on ways to keep fact-based news coming (and rumours at bay) even if the internet is down and delivery routes impassable. That might mean joining forces with CountyFM to broadcast the news rather than print it.

And we will be actively participating in Emergency Preparedness Week here in PEC. On the afternoon of Sunday May 3, ReadyPEC hosts an interactive community event with an expert panel on local risks and how to prepare, and opportunities for residents to learn, connect, volunteer, and get involved in building community readiness.

Talking it all over makes you feel better, not worse. We are all in this together. Prince Edward County is chock full of people who know this. It’s such a comfort.