If we can't stop the devastation we inflict on our planet on a minute-by-minute basis, we can always bank against our abusive ways to the tune of $9.1 million. With 100 million seeds from around the world deposited in a doomsday seed vault on a remote Norwegian island, the world is insuring itself against the likelihood of future environmental mayhem inflicted by wars and other disasters that wipe out food crops. The vault will operate like a bank box, according to USA Today, which ran a story about the vault on Wednesday, February 27. Norway owns the bank, but nations who contributed seeds can withdraw them free of charge.
Here's some of the story:
Svalbard Global Seed Vault, just 620 miles from the North Pole, is designed to house as many as 4.5 million crop seeds from all over the world. It is built to withstand global warming, earthquakes and even nuclear strikes.
The vault will serve as a backup to the other 1,400 seed banks around the world, in case their deposits are lost. War wiped out seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another bank in the Philippines was flooded in the wake of a typhoon in 2006.
"It is very important for Africa to store seeds here because anything can happen to our national seed banks," said 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya. She is a board member of Global Crop Diversity Trust board, which collects the seeds for the Svalbard vault.
The group was founded by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and Biodiversity International, a Rome-based research group.
"Crop diversity will soon prove to be our most potent and indispensable resource for addressing climate change, water and energy supply constraints, and for meeting the food needs of a growing population," said Cary Fowler, head of the trust.
Visit earthhour.org to find out how you can make a meaningful difference here and now rather than doomsday!
Here's some of the story:
Svalbard Global Seed Vault, just 620 miles from the North Pole, is designed to house as many as 4.5 million crop seeds from all over the world. It is built to withstand global warming, earthquakes and even nuclear strikes.
The vault will serve as a backup to the other 1,400 seed banks around the world, in case their deposits are lost. War wiped out seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another bank in the Philippines was flooded in the wake of a typhoon in 2006.
"It is very important for Africa to store seeds here because anything can happen to our national seed banks," said 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya. She is a board member of Global Crop Diversity Trust board, which collects the seeds for the Svalbard vault.
The group was founded by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and Biodiversity International, a Rome-based research group.
"Crop diversity will soon prove to be our most potent and indispensable resource for addressing climate change, water and energy supply constraints, and for meeting the food needs of a growing population," said Cary Fowler, head of the trust.
Visit earthhour.org to find out how you can make a meaningful difference here and now rather than doomsday!
6 Comments
In some ways, a seed bank seems sad. But in other ways, I'm glad someone's thinking about it on our behalf.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like very smart planning to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, I just don't agree with the concept. Nature works perfectly as it should regardless of how the animals on the planet behave. If species of animals or plants go extinct its for a reason and humans should stop trying to make the "unfittest" survive what it never should survive. I know it sounds mean, but no, not every plant or animal is meant to be around for all eternity. Sorry I got a little long winded there - have a great Thursday! :-)
ReplyDeleteWho or what will open the seed vaults when man desipears from this earth
ReplyDeleteWhy not shoot these seed vaults to mars but then if man goes back to the stone age how would he get any seeds , any where, any place.
While everyone is picking up on the "doomsday" idea, in fact the seed banks will be most immediately useful for preserving original stock. One of the problems with making hybrid crops is that you can lose the original genetic makeup, so you may select for yield but loose drought resistance for example. The seed banks in Africa are considered particularly important because so many domesticated grain developed there.
ReplyDeleteThere's another commentary story available in the newspaper today (3/2). I think the point of the seed vault is that we know we are destroying things. There are some species of plant and animal that are not surviving because we are helping them become unfit.
ReplyDeleteMan is the worst enemy of this planet when it should be its best friend. This is one way man is trying to be a better friend, I would guess. Although it does presume man will be around to use this repository, if it ever comes to that.
Guess that's just man being man. I'd rather think that some trace of us will be around for a while anyway, when I'm gone. It's better than thinking otherwise.
Thanks for being here.