Solar Oven
Solar ovens are simply ovens that cook food using only solar heat. Most designs consist of a black box with a clear lid and reflective panels. Another common design is a parabolic mirror that focuses light onto a pot. Solar ovens can easily reach a temperature of 350° in under an hour. That temperature is hot enough to slow cook a chicken, or anything else you might what to eat. In an emergency situation, a solar oven could be very useful. However most people in the United States are unlikely to have one.
While some Americans might keep it as a camping tool or just an interesting novelty item, a solar oven is not considered a necessity in the U.S. In poor countries, solar ovens may be more than just a novelty item. Some charity organizations are devoted to donating solar ovens to impoverished African and Asian nations.
In many of these countries there is no access to clean drinking water or fuel to make a fire. A solar oven solves both of these problems. It can be used to cook food without fuel for a fire and to boil water to make it safer to drink. Besides not needing fuel, solar ovens have other advantages over more traditional open flamed stoves. As no fuel is consumed, no pollution is produced. With no flame there is less risk of a fire. The use of a solar oven can greatly enhance the quality of the air in single roomed homes, and also reduces the risk of setting fire to those homes.
Mechanical Chainsaw
Perhaps more applicable to most residents of the United States is a mechanical chainsaw. The mechanical chainsaw is a neat device that can be useful in certain situations. Like the solar oven it has a simple design, it consists of handles attached to a chainsaw type chain with sharp teeth. To use the chainsaw, the chain is bent around a branch and then the handles are alternately pulled to cut. Designed with unexpected situations in mind, the mechanical chainsaw should be in every cars emergency kit. The simple pulling action can make short work of even large branches that fall on your car. The mechanical chainsaw also has many every day applications. It can be used to prune trees or cut any other rounded wooden object imaginable.
Hand-Cranked Radio
A hand-cranked radio provides a lifeline in almost any disaster. Powered by a hand-cranked generator, these special radios allow the user to get the latest information when the power is out. It only takes about 30 seconds of cranking to store enough power in the device's battery to last for hours. Most hand cranked radios come with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) All Hazards weather radio. Broadcasting on its own frequency, NOAA weather radio provides constantly updated weather information 24/7. Weather radio also broadcasts all weather alerts relevant to your area. Many radios come with a feature that will automatically turn on the radio whenever a weather warning is issued.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!