You're Gonna Need a Bigger Bag

Five years ago, maybe a bookbag felt like enough.

Then a hurricane flooded the mountains.

Wildfires started breaking out on the east coast. Smoke smothered half the country. The Mississippi River started drying up. Industrial accidents released toxic plumes over major cities. Fascists took over the government and waged trade wars while threatening to take over entire continents. We’re living through the preface to our favorite postapocalyptic novels.

It feels unreal.

It’s real.

At the beginning of this decade, many of us barely knew the difference between an N95 and an elastomeric respirator. As threats have grown, so has our knowledge, so have our toolkits, and so has our need for them.

We didn’t ask for this future, but it’s here. Regardless of your doomsday plans, it could all change in one afternoon. You might have to leave everything behind except what you can carry on your back or fit inside a trunk. Even if you intend to stay right where you are until the bittersweet end, it’s not a bad idea to have a bag ready with supplies in one place, something you can grab—even if you’re just taking it from upstairs to downstairs, or outside into your driveway.

If you plan on sticking around, then…

You’re gonna need a bigger bag.

Maybe more than one.