Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Doomsday Seed Vault Design Unveiled

Posted by Zonk on from the any-room-for-humans-in-there dept.

in2mind writes "The BBC News is reporting on the completion of a design for a 'doomsday' vault ... that will house seeds. All known varieties of food crops will be represented in the structure, which will be constructed by the Norwegian government. The vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes by building into the side of a mountain. On a remote island. Near the North pole. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will house the seed samples at a preservative -18C (0F), and could be used by post-apocalyptic people to feed a hungry planet."

2 of 293 comments (clear)

  1. Distributed Repositories by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seems like putting all your eggs in a single basket is maybe not the best solution.

    Since seeds are cheap why not distribute storage repositories around the globe?

    Nonetheless I am thankful that the Norwegians are doing this for potentially all of humanity.

    Come to think about it, I suppose the fact that our collective genome is stuck on this planet is akin to putting all your eggs in a single fragile basket.

  2. Re:Here's a sci-fi plot by naoursla · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or a twilight zone episode.

    Or maybe an H. P. Lovecraft story...

    Scientists go to the North Pole build a doomsday vault so that they will have food in case of a global catastrophe. They discover that a hidden chamber with alien hieroglyphics on the seal. Through careful study and in-depth analysis they decipher the code and learn that WE are the doomsday vault that an ancient race prepared in case of a global catastrophe. The seal is broken. The Old Ones begin to return from the deep unknown to feed.