Got to hand it to Norway – they’ve thought of everything:
The final design for a “doomsday” vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government.
The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole.
The vault aims to safeguard the world’s agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change.
Construction begins in March, and the seed bank is scheduled to open in 2008.
The Norwegian government is paying the $5m (
Yep, when the majority of mankind is destroyed by some sort of nuke or asteroid strike I’m sure the remainder will have direct access to that “remote island.”
*Rolling My Eyes*
What they really mean to say is that in the event of some global catastrophe they’ll (the Norwegians) will have the seed market cornered.
~V5
Nice picture. Just out of curiosity, to where does the walkway lead?
To Do List:
1. Travel to North Pole
2. Break into Norwegian vault.
3. Find seeds for Brussels Sprouts (INFO: May be re-labeled as Bergen Sprouts)
4. Slip hermetically sealed Brussels/Bergen sprout container into pocket.
5. Walk out.
6. Follow walkway.
7. Along the way, “accidentally” drop hermetically sealed B/B sprout container it 10,000 foot crevasse.
Anyone else in?
Nose
We always kept several “barn cats” to keep the mice from eating the grain intended for the milk cow.So(w) we’ll need to stock the cave with some cats.
Nose – I like brussel sprouts!Even my wife can’t believe it.
Awww Nose – Brussells Sprouts are awesome, as long as they are fresh, not frozen or canned. Slice them thin and sautee them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, minced garlic and caramalized onions – oh YUM.
Actually, this is tougher than it first appears -
Seeds loose viability with time…two year old garden seeds don’t sprout as well as one year old seeds. Depending on the variety, this decay will vary.
They may very well have a great store of “dead” seeds unless they rotate stock and refresh/renew the seeds regularly.
Nathaniel
I’m with ya, Nose. Include the cauliflower and brocoli…gag…
Kris – That’s the very recipe my sister turned me on to a few years back.I just love it!I’m not much of a veggie eater, but garlic or cheese sauce “makes the medicine go down, in the most de light ful way!”
Shipmates,
Yumpin Yimminy! look at dat der shelter…
I understand that the Euroweenis are planning to “nuke” the seeds first to prevent contamination and decay.
In a way, that’s probably a good idea. See, if the seeds really do decay and die off, at least you’ll be able to hollow them out and use them for a boat to sail back to the mainland.
Respects,
And the rats too. Norway dock rats in particular —Rattus Norvegicus is baaaaaad to the bone.
I’ve seen veteran mouser cats aboard ship “void themselves” and run for their lives when they encounter multiple adult Norwegian dock rats in confined spaces.
“Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Norway rats are incredible pests to human populations. The species plays hosts to a plethora of diseases, including Trichia, Typhus, and the Plague. These rats also carry bacteria in their saliva that can infect those bitten and cause a sickness known as Rat Bite Fever. Norway rats also cause billions of dollars per year in the destruction of crops and food stores. They also cause fires by chewing electrical wires in buildings. (Nowak and Paradiso, 1983; Silver, 1927)”
Norway rats are actually from China, but still —don’t let ‘em guard the seed vault.
Kris…Sick, just sick. Brussell Sprouts eeewww!
Capt J…..maybe they could dig a vault for the rats while they’re at it
And how do the Norwegians plan to power this little facility to keep said seeds from freezing when the lights go off world-wide? Only a few varieties of food crop seeds can handle freezing…
Oh, wait… lemme look… yeah, that’s what I thought. Brussel sprout seeds can handle a little freeze… sorry ’bout that, Nose.
JAS,
I’m no idiot (well, I am, but not about this) why do you think I picked the 10000 ft crevasse?
Nose
I am with Kris and Phil, Brussels sprouts, Yum. Cauliflower and broccoli too. As far as I’m concerned they could lose the okra seeds and I wouldn’t mind a bit
I also think that 5 mil construction cost has got to be a misprint. Way too little money for a project in the Artic.
…and on a side note, pathologists have discovered almost that many seeds while performing the autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith.
news at eleven.
Nose – “…to where does the walkway lead?” The walk is not complete yet.It gets paved with yellow bricks.
LOL Nose – but I’ll bet the little buggers could crawl their way out even so.
Or else the rats will scrabble down there and swallow them whole and then .. ya know… ‘recycle’ them out from that crevice into more receptive pastures…
Brussel sprouts *and* rats. Yech.
Geez, who woulda thunk it?
A post about frozen veggie seeds could sprout 17 comments…….must habe been a sloooow news day! Wonder how long it will grow.
Nose, I’m with ya, lose the brussel sprouts (aka baby cabbage, aka little farts), but do keep the broccoli and cauliflower. please. BTW who was it that didn’t like broccoli – GWB Sr or Reagan? Bah, Republicans, they never did know what was good for them!
Nose – if you’ll put Lima Beans in that hermetically sealed bag, I’m in.
Oh and in case anyone wonders, THAT’s the bunker I’m talkin’ about…
Michelle: It was GHWB who didn’t like Broccoli.
So they got dem seeds up there, right? And, uh, the’re savin’ em in case, like the human race gets wiped out in some big event, right? Uh, soooo who’s gonna be planting the seeds? I’m just askin’
well, the rats (temporarily well-fed on brussel sprout seeds) will naturally mutate due to the radioactivity and the global warming will make sure there will be non-ice-covered soil right outside the bunker so the answere to who’s planting the seeds would be … giant radioactive rats.
As a child who didn’t like broccoli, I felt vindicated when Bush the Elder said he didn’t like broccoli. If the president didn’t like it…
Is it just me, or did I miss this lesson in social studies… but, since when did Norway become the agricultural capitol of the world? Do they even have soil up there? It seems to me that they need to save some dirt while there at it…
Better to stockpile some weapons. Ya know, so we can go ‘get’ the the seeds from the Norwegians