What would happen if you gave Saudi-style oil money to a northern European country? Instead of palaces to their own vanity and fundamentalist Islamic schools across the globe, what would they spend their money on?
‘Doomsday’ Seed Vault Opens in ArcticA “doomsday” seed vault built to protect millions of food crops from climate change, wars and natural disasters opened Tuesday deep within an Arctic mountain in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. “The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is our insurance policy,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told delegates at the opening ceremony. “It is the Noah’s Ark for securing biological diversity for future generations.”
The vault will serve as a backup for hundreds of other seed banks worldwide. It has the capacity to store 4.5 million seed samples from around the world and shield them from man-made and natural disasters. Dug into the permafrost of the mountain, it has been built to withstand an earthquake or a nuclear strike.
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it’s the oil-rich state of non-EU Norway that financed, built, and will manage the facility. It paid $9.1 million for construction and will pay for maintenance costs, facility personnel, and storing the seeds at a constant temperature of minus 18 degrees Celsius (even if the freezer system fails, temperatures inside will never rise above -3.5 Celsius). That’s not all that much cash—but then there is the fact that any nation can deposit and withdraw seeds free of charge. Pakistan and Kenya, both undergoing serious civil unrest, have sent seed collections. (Samples sent from Colombia are being closely scrutinized to avoid the project becoming a vehicle for drug trafficking.)
This is as close to post-disaster backup for the human race that we can envision today. See the specs at Wikipedia. An image of its internal structure appears below.
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COMMENTS / 8 COMMENTS
cirby added these pithy words on 27 Feb 08 at 5:31 pmIf it’s a real “doomsday,” who’s going to plant them?
(Not to mention that, on the scale in the pictures, it won’t even hold enough seed to plant a good-sized Iowa field, much less resurrect agriculture for the whole planet)
Chirol added these pithy words on 27 Feb 08 at 7:41 pmIf there is some kind of doomsday, how in the world will anyone even get to Svalbard?
Lexington Green added these pithy words on 27 Feb 08 at 10:34 pm“... how in the world will anyone get to Svalbard?”
You’ve got it backwards. The Norskis will take to the seas in longships, as usual, and wade ashore to plunder and steal women. When they find a decent arable patch, they’ll drive out the locals, and order boats with seed samples to be sent out in the next wave. The Norwegians are at their best during Dark Ages. It all fits.
Michael added these pithy words on 27 Feb 08 at 11:07 pmLex, does this mean they also have secret stashes of mead to tide them over until honeybees are productive again? Will their longhouses be furnished with Norse primitive or Ikea? And why are you worried more about vikings than armored bears?*grin*
Cirby, I think they’re worried less about planting a single field than preserving diversity. If a disaster kills off all but a single strain of potato (for example), they can use these samples to reproduce more strains to prevent a fungus or something from killing off potatos (and those dependent on them) as a whole.
Soob added these pithy words on 27 Feb 08 at 11:29 pmI heard something about this recently. The “Doomsday” bit is dramatic but not quite in line with the true initiative which is to preserve various strains of vegetation that are going extinct or becoming endangered (if someday you get bored, do some research on the banana…)
Also, IIRC, this facility runs with offsite oversight at a cost of $100,000 per year.
Other than that, Lex is probably dead on. If the fit hits the shan, expect drakkar’s, terrified women and shivering patches of frightened and unsown land.
Alfred Russel Wallace added these pithy words on 28 Feb 08 at 2:59 amSvalbard is a fascinating place – coal mining remains an important industry, but the mines are above sea-level, and go straight into the mountains – the mountains have been uplifted and then scoured by glaciers so that they look like giant ‘licorice allsorts’, with coal seams as the licorice.. http://www.npolar.no/.../ p_a_sv_01.html
Uncle B added these pithy words on 03 Mar 08 at 8:55 pmCan hardly wait ‘till MIT gets fusion perfected and the hydrogen economy prevails. What troubles me is who will own it and what kind of tyrants will they be? The Saudis are rich enough to buy it, the question is, Are the Americans dumb enough to sell it
aaron added these pithy words on 10 Jun 08 at 4:16 pmUnbelieveable.
What a great and responsible act.Bravo norway.
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