by James Wallace Harris, 10/15/26
For some reason, I’m morphing into a prepper. Is it my age? Or am I experiencing what Bob Dylan wrote about in “Talkin’ World War III Blues,” where everyone is worried about the end of the world?
Well, now time passed and now it seems
Everybody’s having them dreams
Everybody sees themselves
Walkin’ around with no one else
Are these strange political, climatological, and technological times unnerving people? Why is everyone buying a gun? For some reason, I don’t worry about crime, but grid failure. I probably should worry about AI. Getting old is making me frail – is that the cause?
Back in August, a storm knocked 148,000 homes off the grid. We only lost power for a couple of hours, but my neighbor lost power for five days. She stored her refrigerated food in our refrigerator. Again, I agonized over buying a whole-house generator but decided against it. Air-cooled generators aren’t designed to run 24/7 for days, and I’m not ready to step up to water-cooled generators.
However, I just couldn’t let the idea go. After watching a zillion YouTube videos, I bought an Anker SOLIX S2000 power station backup and ZOUPW 450W Portable solar panels. I knew even this was impractical. I spent $1200 to protect $200 to $300 worth of food. I’d need to experience five or six multi-day power outages to recoup my investment.
To be honest, I bought the S2000 and ZOUPW because I love gadgets and electronic devices. I felt challenged to find a solution that would keep my refrigerator running indefinitely during a power outage.
The Anker SOLIX S2000 is advertized to keep an average American fridge running for 35 hours. I figured since I had a smaller 17.2-cubic-foot icebox, I’d get even more hours.
In my first test, I got 29 hours. Not bad, but a little disappointing. My fridge uses about 70 watts on average, but had a few surges past 200.
I knew when I bought the solar panels that my yard gets very little direct sunlight because of all the trees. Still, I tried. The day was also overcast. But our most common outages are ice storms, when trees are bare.
The portable solar panel generated 7-10 watts. That’s the reality of solar energy. I’ll test them again on a sunny day. Even with the trees, I get some sunny patches. In winter, I hope I’ll get much more direct sunlight.
If I could get 250-300 watts for six hours, I could keep my S2000 going for days.
Yet, I must question my obsession. For seventy years, I never worried about power failures. Never felt the need to prep. So why now? Back in my fifties, Susan and I endured 13 days without power in July and August. It was miserable. Never spent a moment thinking about it happening again. I’ve also lived through several ice storms without power.
I never thought about prepping until I heard about whole-house natural gas generators. I never wanted to mess with a gasoline generator. And then it got worse when I heard about solar power stations. I guess I’m seduced by tech.
But once I got into the idea of making my own electricity, it became a fun problem to ponder. However, I do need to think about the reality of what I’m trying to do.
I don’t mind bundling up and living with the cold. I do hate enduring the heat. My friend Laurie just got back from a month in Costa Rica. She had no air conditioning. Europe went through a heat wave this summer, and most people didn’t have air conditioning. I’m just being a wimp if I can’t go without air conditioning for a few days or weeks. I grew up in Miami without air conditioning.
Two or three ice storms ago, we realized that our phones, tablets, and laptops were our top priority. I bought a small Jackery that solved that problem. We also have a gas water heater, so we could take hot showers.
Recalling the last ice storm, I missed hot food the most. Yet, I didn’t starve. I had stocked up on lots of ready-to-eat snacks.
Because I own a solar power station with solar panels, what else could I use it for? I checked with an AI, and the most efficient way to heat a meal with electricity is with a microwave. Gemini says the S2000 could produce 35 hot meals. That’s not bad.
Gemini also said I could run my 5G internet router and smart TV for 15 to 24 hours. At the next power outage, I’ll ask Susan: Want the refrigerator or TV?
This got me thinking. I was considering spending $15,000 on a whole-house generator. I could buy ten S2000 power stations for less than half that. (Currently $649 each.) With even five S2000s, I could solve many of my power problems for several days.
See how this is more of a complicated puzzle to me than an actual survival problem? I’m not a real prepper who worries about civilization collapsing. I assume if civilization falls apart, it’s time to die.
Pondering all the possibilities regarding keeping my gadgets powered reveals something philosophical about modern life. It’s really about fighting boredom and being thrown out of our comfortable ruts. It’s amazing how many electrical appliances and gadgets we’ve integrated into our lives.
What if something severe happened to the nation? Say the power grid went down, telecommunications/computer networks collapsed, and food and water must be rationed by the government. Citizens in many nations endure that now.
Imagine having to build outhouses in our backyards and create our own toilet paper. What if our only light was daylight? If things got that bad, there would be no pharmacies. We’d spend most of our time waiting in line for food and water. What would we do with ourselves without the internet and television?
We depend on civilization. Then why are we so self-destructive and constantly undermining civilization? The money we spend on defense and war could build a rock-solid infrastructure. Just the money we spent on the current war in Iran could have transformed our power grid.
I’m currently reading The End of Everything by M. John Harrison. The novel is a finalist for this year’s Booker Prize. Weird invaders from another dimension have caused civilization to collapse. I just finished reading “If We Make It Through This Alive” by A. T. Greenblatt, a short story in which civilization has fallen apart for unspecified reasons. Like the Bob Dylan song above, when everyone worried about the bomb, everyone now sees endless possibilities for apocalypses.
Is prepping a new fad? Or the conscious reaction to unconscious fears?
JWH
