You think you are prepared to live off-grid if a major disaster happens. You have a bunch of those 5-gallon buckets full of dry goods. You have cans of kerosene and gas in storage. You’ve collected some antibiotics and other medications in case your family gets sick. But have you considered your pets?

Imagine waking up to a world vastly different than the one you fell asleep in. Most of what you had is gone, and that which is left will perish in a short time. I’m talking about a world where the grid goes down. Communication is cut off from family in distant states, there is no internet, no power, and you have batteries in your radio, but no stations tune in. You know that travel is limited to the amount of gas in your car, and when it runs out, you have a $30,000 hunk of metal and plastic. Everything in your refrigerator will be spoiled in eight hours, then you’re left with the canned food and bread that are left in your cabinets. When that runs out in a few days, then what? Should you have listened to your crazy prepper friend who warned you this day would come?

In considering the state of society in the US these days—with wars and threats of terrorism, natural disasters, and a weak and vulnerable electrical grid—the lessons to be learned from the Jamestown settlement are essential. To be prepared for whatever this world throws at us, we must consider the possibilities, stock up on provisions, and have a plan of action. We must also consider the community in which we may be stuck living. Going outside of that community to get provisions may be impossible, just as it was for the English at Jamestown. Having those within the community with needed skills is a must.