Turner 1

Molly TurnerMr. ShawEnglish 1Island SurvivalImagine youre on a tropical island in the middle of nowhere. Nobody knows where you are and you probably arent getting rescued anytime soon. What would you want to have with you? Would you want an mp3 player to pass the time, or be more practical and have a fire-starting kit? People have many different priorities when it comes to survival. If I were in this situation, I would absolutely want to have a fire-starting kit, a knife, and bags for water storage. These items are essential in survival because they give warmth, hot and clean water, protection for yourself, portability, and storage for supplies.Keeping yourself warm in the tropics is a must. The clothes on your body can only keep you so warm. A solar blanket would be nice, but theres really nothing more you can do with it. Fire is key in surviving because it also provides heat to boil water, which is the safest way to purify water. This leaves no reason for separate water purification or oxytetracycline tablets. In conjunction with safe water, safe food can be cooked with fire. But even if you have clean water and safe food, you still have no chance of getting rescued. Creating smoke from the fire by throwing moss in it can serve as a signaling device for airplanes and ships to find you. There are many more crucial points in survival and many of these can be covered by the knife.The knife mainly serves as a tool for protection. No matter how much food and water you have, there are many other threats including predators on the island. The knife forms as a line of defense. Another capability of the knife is the ability to construct tools. You can whittle a bowl, utensils, spears for fishing, and even supplies for a shelter. Lastly, you can kill prey, such as small pigs, and other small forest animals for nutritional content. You can only live off of berries for so long.Now you run into the problem of where can you can put all of your food and tools. A quick and multipurpose solution is bags for water storage. This allows for organization, which is vital in chaotic situations. It may be cold at night, but in the day, it is very hot and humid, making your body sweat and loses water. When you leave you base, you need to take portable water and food with you. Bags easily solve this problem. All you need to do is make a two compartment back pack, one compartment for water and the other for food. Finally, like every Boy Scout knows, a bear bucket or vault is the only way to keep out wild animals, not just bears, away from you food and tools. With vines and bags, this is a very quick and easy project.Its amazing how three simple items can provide so many traits for survival. Ranging from having clean water to bear buckets, it ultimately boils down to staying alive and getting rescued. If I was on an uncharted tropical island, and I had three items to choose to have with me, they would be a fire-starting kit, a knife, and bags for water storage. Think about it, what could you not live without?