"Doomsday" Seed Vault Opens In Norway

Arctic Vault Protects Millions Of Seeds From Climate Change, War, Natural Disasters

(AP)  It's been dubbed a Noah's Ark for plant life and built to withstand an earthquake or a nuclear strike.

Dug deep into the permafrost of a remote Arctic mountain, Norway has created a "doomsday" vault to protect the world's seeds from global catastrophe.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a backup to the world's 1,400 other seed banks, was being officially inaugurated in a ceremony Tuesday on the northern rim of civilization attended by about 150 guests from 33 countries.

The frozen vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million seed samples from around the globe, shielding them from climate change, war, natural disasters and other threats.

"There are not many countries in the world they could have pulled this off," said Cary Fowler, executive director of project partner the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

Norway owns the vault in Svalbard, a frigid archipelago about 620 miles from the North Pole. The Nordic country paid US $9.1 million for construction, which took less than a year. Other countries can deposit seeds for free and reserve the right to withdraw them upon need.

The operation is funded by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which was founded by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and Biodiversity International, a Rome-based research group.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya, and a Crop Diversity Trust board member, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were set to attend the opening ceremony 425 feet deep into the Plataaberget mountain.

It was about -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) outside as reporters were allowed in for a sneak peak of the vault on Monday. But it was colder inside.

Giant air conditioning units have chilled the vault to -18 Celsius (-0.4 F), a temperature at which experts say many seeds could last for 1,000 years.

Inside the concrete entrance, decorated for the opening with an ice sculpture of a polar bear, a roughly 400-foot tunnel with steel and concrete leads to three separate 32-by-88-foot chambers where the seeds will be stored.

The first 600 boxes with 11 tons (12 U.S. tons) of seed have already arrived at Svalbard from 20 seed banks around the world, Norwegian Agriculture Minister Terje Riis-Johansen said at a seminar Monday. The first 75 boxes will be carried into the vault by guests as part of the opening ceremony.

The seeds are packed in silvery foil containers - as many as 500 in each sample - and placed on blue and orange metal shelves inside the vaults. Each vault can hold 1.5 million sample packages of all types of crop seeds, from carrots to wheat.

Construction leader Magnus Bredeli-Tveiten said the vault is designed to withstand earthquakes - successfully tested by a 6.2-magnitude temblor off Svalbard last week - and even a direct nuclear strike.

Even if power systems failed, the permafrost around the vault would help keep the seeds "cold for 200 years even in the worst case climate scenario," said Fowler.

He expected the vault's life span to rival that of Egypt's ancient pyramids.

"So much of the value of Svalbard is that it is so far away from the dangers" that affect many other parts of the globe, Fowler said. The archipelago is about 300 miles north of the Norwegian mainland.

Other seed banks are in less protected areas. For example, war wiped out seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one in the Philippines was flooded in the wake of a typhoon in 2006. Fowler said the Svalbard bank was a like an insurance policy.

"It's like you get in your car in the morning and drive to the office. You don't expect to get into a car accident, but you buy insurance anyway," he said.

The Svalbard vault is protected by armed guards, but their rifles aren't only meant to discourage uninvited humans from coming too close.

"My job is to keep away people who aren't supposed to be here, and guard against polar bears," said seed vault worker Jimmy Olsen, who was standing outside the entrance Monday with a bear rifle slung from his shoulder. There are an estimated 3,000 polar bears on the islands.

Norway has received praise from around the world for building the seed bank.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf on Monday called it "one of the most innovative and impressive acts in the service of humanity."

But the world spotlight has worried some locals who treasure the isolation of the Arctic archipelago.

"We like to be here a little bit for ourselves," said Kai Tredal, 42, one of the roughly 2,000 residents of Svalbard's main town of Longyearbyen.

[rational_1]

"My job is to keep away people who aren''t supposed to be here, and guard against polar bears," said seed vault worker Jimmy Olsen, who was standing outside the entrance Monday with a bear rifle slung from his shoulder."

Jimmy Olsen is guarding seeds? A bit of a letdown, doncha think, after taking all those amazing photographs of Superman? Poor Jimmy - at least Lois still thinks you''re swell.

[taddles-2009]

"So, after the end of the nuclear war, I''''m supposed to schlep up to the north pole and find all these seeds buried in this vault 500 feet under some mountain?

Posted by DaVicar2 at 12:59 PM : Feb 26, 2008"

Yea, sorry about that, we all voted while you were in the john and you''re the one who has to go get the seeds. Oh and while your out...could you get me a Latte?

[taddles-2009]

"God said, "Let the Mayans build a calendar that ends in 2012 to make all the wackos develop end-of-the-world theories based on it."

Posted by rf35 at 05:57 PM : Feb 26, 2008"

Except if that whako''s would bother taking a look at said calendar they might note that it is in fact a perpetual calendar (much like the ones you can buy at Walmart) which will simply turn over on 12 21 2012.

The most amazing thing however will happen at exactly midnight on December 21st 2012...it will become...SATURDAY WHOOT WHOOOT !!!

[taddles-2009]

"scientist refer to it as planet x it''''s name is nibiru.it''''s orbit brings it pretty close to earth in the year 2012.it is allready visable in the southern hemisphere and sould be visible by all at the end of 2009.
Posted by tool105 at 11:51 AM : Feb 26, 2008"

Uh huh...no scientist calls anything Nibiru as that is a term coined by Zecharia Sitchin. Visible??? really....and where would this be visible again? Oh that''s right...nowhere. You really are a tool.

[rf35]

Stop worrying about what the Mayans said. What did God say? Read the book of Revelation!

Posted by CaliEngineer at 05:12 PM : Feb 26, 2008

God said, "Let the Mayans build a calendar that ends in 2012 to make all the wackos develop end-of-the-world theories based on it."

[taddles-2009]

"but dont just take my word for it ckeck it out on nasa''''s web site or just google nibiru.

Posted by tool105 at 11:51 AM : Feb 26, 2008"

Taking your word would be foolish.

Our solar system has 8 primary planets (sorry, pluto got downgraded to a dwarf planet) and 2 dwarf planets one of which was discovered in 2006. Originaly called 2003 UB313, now officially named Eris, this dwarf planet is about half again as large as Pluto (making it about as big as New Jersey) and 3 times farther away from the sun than Pluto (making it way way the he!! out there and f**king cold).

"Nibiru" was the Sumerian name for the planet Jupiter which is visible in the night sky. It is also the name of a wondering planetoid in the extremely questionable works of one Zecharia Sitchin, a self proclaimed expert on extra terrestrials and their travels to the earth. Sitchin''s views and writings are based on his faulty translations of Sumerian and Babylonian texts and have been widely condemned by pretty much every scientific community.

[caliengineer]

The more I hear about the Norwegians, the more I like them.

Stop worrying about what the Mayans said. What did God say? Read the book of Revelation!

[rational_1]

the return of the 12th planet in our solar system. scientist refer to it as planet x it''''s name is nibiru.it''''s orbit brings it pretty close to earth in the year 2012.it is allready visable in the southern hemisphere and sould be visible by all at the end of 2009.but dont just take my word for it ckeck it out on nasa''''s web site or just google nibiru.
Posted by tool105 at 11:51 AM : Feb 26, 2008

Yup, just as I thought - I do regret asking.

[tool105]

sorry i meant it ends on dec. 21 2012 not the 12th

[tool105]

yes that is correct the mayan long count calendar ends on dec.12 2012 or 13 0 0 0. kinda makes ya wounder uh?

[tool105]

the return of the 12th planet in our solar system. scientist refer to it as planet x it''s name is nibiru.it''s orbit brings it pretty close to earth in the year 2012.it is allready visable in the southern hemisphere and sould be visible by all at the end of 2009.but dont just take my word for it ckeck it out on nasa''s web site or just google nibiru.

[rushlimpdrug]

what''''s supposed to happen on 12/21/12?
Posted by rational_1 at 11:24 AM

It''s the day I get my Chrismas gifts from 2008 delivered.

[rational_1]

goverments all of the world are building these vaults but they are not for seeds like they say.they are planing for december 21 2012.
Posted by tool105 at 09:22 AM : Feb 26, 2008

I know I''m going to regret this, but I just have to ask - what''s supposed to happen on 12/21/12?

[tool105]

goverments all of the world are building these vaults but they are not for seeds like they say.they are planing for december 21 2012.

[be_thechange]

How bittersweet. Praise for Norway and the international community members who brought this about. How sad that humanity has entered a time when preparations for Doomsday must be made. Read this and then do something kind today.

[anonbene]

Hold on just a second, let''s say the poop hits the fan and everyone is wiped out except for me and Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry. Are you saying I have to make one of these two walk to Denmark to get some seeds so she can walk back down here where it''s warm enough to plant them and no one is telling where they keep the key to the door? Is it under the welcome mat? Shouldn''t every human be given a duplicate key? or the combination to the lock? I also think the woman I make walk up there to get the seeds would probably just eat them on the way back. I don''t think this was thought out well at all.

[rational_1]

Really good idea - don''t forget pot!! LOL

[rf35]

Well. Good.

[crater7]

THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. WITH ALMOST A YEAR LEFT ON KING GEORGE''S WATCH, IT''S COMFORTING TO KNOW THAT SOMEONE IS LOOKING OUT FOR HUMANITY.