The Arctic Doomsday Seed Vault

Anonymous Cow writes "A giant refrigerated genetic bank built into the island of Svalbard has been brought online. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway is designed to house up to 4.5 million seeds in the case of a catostrophic event. The bank is funded by the Norwegian government, Monsanto Corporation, and the Gates, Rockefeller, and Syngenta Foundations. The Global Crop Diversity Trust has completed construction of the doomsday vault and is getting the facility ready to preserve the genetic heritage of the world's agriculture for future generations. There will be no full-time staff, but the vault's relative inaccessibility will facilitate monitoring human activity. Spitsbergen was considered ideal due to its lack of tectonic activity and its permafrost, which will aid preservation. Locally mined coal will provide power for refrigeration units which will further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard 20 to 30 C."

Comments

Monsanto...

[locokamil]

... in charge of saving our agricultural bacon? The same people who tried to bring agricultural holocaust to the developing world with their you-can't-save-our-seeds-for-next-year's-crop shenanigans?

Hopefully their influence will be counterbalanced by some of the less evil groups participating in the project.

Re:Monsanto...

[alshithead]

"... in charge of saving our agricultural bacon?"

Let's be fair. It is their best interests (and ours) to save specimens of original seed stocks. It's always good to be able to look back to see how you got from there to here...and maybe try and fix some huge mistake so you don't get your ass sued into oblivion. Or, worse case scenario, save the world from your "innovations". We should look at this as a plus.

Re:Monsanto...

[svnt]

It's a brilliant plan. After Armageddon the seeds from the vault will produce plants that don't go to seed, and then next season we'll all be forced to buy them from... wait a minute.

Re:Monsanto...

[locokamil]

Please understand that I have no issue with Monsanto making a profit... as long as they do so by creating and selling progressively better products.

Yes, the new drought-resistant, high-yield strains are wonderful things that allow the starving masses to feed 'themselfs'. But by throwing in a genetic time bomb and neutering the crops, Monsanto is in effect resting on its laurels and obviating the need for further innovation.

In fact, it's nothing more than genetic DRM. And in this case, the "DRM == bad" meme is fully and wholly applicable.

Re:Monsanto...

[squidinkcalligraphy]

Though I'm a seed saver myself, and thus am at odds with Monsanto's terminator technology (and GM in general), terminator seeds are probably quite a useful way to stop GM seeds spreading into the rest of the environment. I mean, that's one of the main arguments against GM: that GM crops may breed with other crops and weeds, creating unwanted effects, or exposing effects that might not have been apparent in the short period of testing available. Making GM crops sterile reduces the validity of this argument.

Re:Monsanto...

[alshithead]

"Do I want Monsanto goons having access to the only safe seed left? Hell no. Ever hear of blackmail? What if the only viable unmodified corn was here, and Monsanto 'kidnaps' it. Maybe not for ransom, but for power."

Wait while affix my tinfoil hat...okay, I can agree to a certain point. If you're really that worried then buy some Monsanto stock. That way you win too.

"Now that I think of it, if you wanted to preserve DATA about the DNA, that would be easier maybe than preserving the actual DNA."

With tinfoil hat still firmly in place...how does that save you in an apocalyptic scenario? Where does the technology come into play that gives us a good starting point with seed stock if the technology to manipulate DNA isn't available because of the collapse of civilization? :)

Re:Monsanto...

[riker1384]

Something could happen to prevent the farmers in other coutries from getting new seeds from Monsanto. A war, embargo, natural disaster or other event could cut them off from America or the Western world, leaving them unable to grow more food and dooming millions of people to starvation. It would be insane to let this become a widespread method of farming. If something happens in one part of the world you want the rest to be able to carry on.

Good idea but...

[canuck57]

Good idea but who is going to be around to plant them?

Old news and FUD

[drunken_boxer777]

This is old news.

The linked article in the summary looks like a lot of FUD to me. Read at your own risk.

From the article:

The bank will have dual blast-proof doors with motion sensors, two airlocks, and walls of steel-reinforced concrete one meter thick. ... There will be no full-time staff...

My question is, if there is a doomsday event, how do we get in?

I hope it will never actually be needed

[FudRucker]

and i hope they keep Monsanto's genetically modified seed and intellectual property separate from natural seeds, thats all we need in the future is for Monsanto having a monopoly on global food crops...

It's all relative

[NotQuiteReal]

One species' "doomsday" is another species chance to thrive. I don't see any giant reptiles bitching over their fate now, do I?

Just think how pissed you'd be if a bunch of velociraptors popped out of some jurassic "doomsday" vault next week and started chomping down on your homo sapiens brethren?

Think about the long term. Modern Humans have been around for as few as 6000 years according to some folks, as long as a few hundred thousand years, maybe a bit more, according to more rational minds.

The same rational minds that put the age of the universe several orders of magnitude greater.

One way or the other, what's the difference?