While browsing the Yahoo front page I was captivated by one of the Yahoo top searches for today: Doomsday Seed Vault (How Diabolical!). Upon further investigation, I found out that it was OPENED today!! Pretty ominous sounding but luckily it was only opening for its inauguration and not because of the Armageddon.
The Doomsday Vault, which looks a lot like my PC tower left in the snow, is located in Svalbard, Norway and currently houses and protects 268,000 different seed samples against natural disasters and damage from wars. Although the vault is owned by Norway, countries are free to deposit their seeds while retaining ownership. The vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million different seed samples and seeds are stored in foil containers and placed in chambers cooled at -0.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The purpose of this vault is to provide back up and it will only be accessed when the original seed collections are wiped out.
Now when you visit the Arctic Circle you can make two sightseeing stops, one to Superman's Fortress of Solitude and the other to the Doomsday Vault (both equally comic bookesque). But on a more serious note, this Doomsday Vault should raise awareness about protecting the world's seeds and also watching the global food supply. Let's hope we never have to hear about this vault opening ever again.
The Doomsday Vault, which looks a lot like my PC tower left in the snow, is located in Svalbard, Norway and currently houses and protects 268,000 different seed samples against natural disasters and damage from wars. Although the vault is owned by Norway, countries are free to deposit their seeds while retaining ownership. The vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million different seed samples and seeds are stored in foil containers and placed in chambers cooled at -0.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The purpose of this vault is to provide back up and it will only be accessed when the original seed collections are wiped out. For more information: visit www.seedvault.no
Now when you visit the Arctic Circle you can make two sightseeing stops, one to Superman's Fortress of Solitude and the other to the Doomsday Vault (both equally comic bookesque). But on a more serious note, this Doomsday Vault should raise awareness about protecting the world's seeds and also watching the global food supply. Let's hope we never have to hear about this vault opening ever again.
If you haven't already, check out my article - Corn Oil for the 21st Century - as it pertains to not only the energy crisis but the possibility of future food shortages.
Recommended Reading: None
4 comments:
Wow, I'd never ever heard about the Doomsday Vault until reading this blog, thanks for the info!
What a great concept!
True, me neither.
The Norwegian vault takes care of the continuity of the species of botanical kind but what about those in the animal kingdom, which include fish, birds and... us?
I guess when the time comes, someone will build an ark (or perhaps a nuclear bomb shelter) and take two of each species with him/her.
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