NationStates Jolt Archive

Work has begun on the Doomsday Vault, a large tunnel in the Arctic which will protect thousands of plant seeds in the event of a nuclear war, asteroid, or any other event that could wipe a species out.
Links a plenty:
BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7097052.stm)
New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/27/070827fa_fact_seabrook) Not the same vault, but the same idea
New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/science/14skovmand.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

My first reaction to hearing about this was, "What do the Norwegians know that I don't?" But after letting it sink in, he seems like a good idea. Even if the apocalypse doesn't hit, it can't hurt to store emergency seeds, if for no other reason than research. What do posters here think?

and they will elect me as the care taker! :D

so in the event of global catastrophe the survivors must travel to an isolated arctic island, somehow collect all the seeds (presumably after they defeat the polar bear hybrids) and then transport them to areas that are suitable to support farming

I hope we have frozen Conan to lead the fight

I don't think it's necessary, but squirrels do it with acorns, so why not...

Well, we may not be squirrels, but its a good idea, I should think. Though as Call to Power pointed out, it should be somewhere more accesible(SP?), and hopefully without mutant bears. Also, theres little point in seeds if we don't have the means to plant them. Put farming equipment in there, along with instructions, just in case some wierd side-effect comes in to play, and we forget the basics of agriculture. And ver detailed pictures, in case we forget how to read as well.

This is just asking for someone to confuse real life with Twilight: 2000.

That's a good idea, really. Maintaining stockpiles of these plants is an excellent way to offset any potential risks due to GMO contamination, along with a host of various natural disasters and phenomena.

where whould you plant them (coooontaaaaminaaaaationnnnn) who whould plant them (doooomsdaaay) Besides the mutant plants would much better - remember gilligans island, mary ann could see really far, mrs howell was really fast and giligan was super stong.

If I understand correctly this facility needs to be maintained in order for the seeds to be properly stored? Let's assume an asteroid hits the Earth and nearly wipes out man. The human race gets thrown back thousands of years on the time scale. Who the heck is going to make sure this place is maintained correctly until humanity can get itself together and make it to this far off island to collect seeds?

I doubt this vault would help much after doomsday but if doomsday doesn't occur then it will be very valuable. In the future when all agricultural crops and gardening plants are genetically engineered and much of the natural vegetation is either extinct from climate change or morphed into hybrids interbred with engineered plants. Then the genetic engineers can go back to this vault and recover the long lost old original DNAs from the past. Great idea!

I doubt this vault would help much after doomsday but if doomsday doesn't occur then it will be very valuable. In the future when all agricultural crops and gardening plants are genetically engineered and much of the natural vegetation is either extinct from climate change or morphed into hybrids interbred with engineered plants. Then the genetic engineers can go back to this vault and recover the long lost old original DNAs from the past. Great idea!

That's true; the best way to determine the effects of genetic engineering would be to compare them to their unengineered ancestors. Personally, I think they should also create a computer database of these plants' genomes for use by researchers today, regardless of whether any doomsday situation occurs or not. This would allow them not only to use the resource now but to ensure that the data is backed up (in case, say, the vault has some kind of unexpected breach and the seeds are lost).

My first reaction to hearing about this was, "What do the Norwegians know that I don't?" But after letting it sink in, he seems like a good idea. Even if the apocalypse doesn't hit, it can't hurt to store emergency seeds, if for no other reason than research. What do posters here think?A changing climate can easily destroy certain species of plants, since, unlike animals, they can't move to a more suitable habitat. Saving their seeds only makes sense.

Work has begun on the Doomsday Vault, a large tunnel in the Arctic which will protect thousands of plant seeds in the event of a nuclear war, asteroid, or any other event that could wipe a species out.
Links a plenty:
BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7097052.stm)
New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/27/070827fa_fact_seabrook) Not the same vault, but the same idea
New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/science/14skovmand.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

My first reaction to hearing about this was, "What do the Norwegians know that I don't?" But after letting it sink in, he seems like a good idea. Even if the apocalypse doesn't hit, it can't hurt to store emergency seeds, if for no other reason than research. What do posters here think?

I think they should also store frozen eggs and sperm of every complex animal on the earth.

..Maybe they should just build that thing from Titan AE. You know. The big thing.

so in the event of global catastrophe the survivors must travel to an isolated arctic island, somehow collect all the seeds (presumably after they defeat the polar bear hybrids) and then transport them to areas that are suitable to support farming

I hope we have frozen Conan to lead the fight

By that point, only the healthiest and strongest humans will be left. ;)

I think the idea isn't so much that when the world dies, at least the survivors will have a food supply, though. It's more in the event that a blight wipes out all wheat, or an asteroid hits the only country that still grows rye, we will have the means to replant those plants.

By that point, only the healthiest and strongest humans will be left. ;)
I'm not sure how healthy they'll be after a heavy dose of radiation.
I think the idea isn't so much that when the world dies, at least the survivors will have a food supply, though. It's more in the event that a blight wipes out all wheat, or an asteroid hits the only country that still grows rye, we will have the means to replant those plants.
This is it, gentlemen: we could be facing the end of rye on earth. The pastrami on rye, the . . . other things that involve rye, all of it, gone! Yet, there is still one hope: if we fight off the army of mutant polar bears currently using the Great Rye Tunnels as their Citadel of Doom, we might be able to recover enough seed to save our Rye Supply.

I think they should also store frozen eggs and sperm of every complex animal on the earth.

..Maybe they should just build that thing from Titan AE. You know. The big thing.

you mean.. the TITAN? :p


I hope they store the right kind of seeds. I can just see it now.

"Why aren't the plants providing seeds?"

"normally they provide the seeds after the bees fer..."

"bees?"

"Yep.. bees are needed to pollinate the flowers and get the seeding processes started."

"but didn't all the insects die out in the apocolypse?"

"Yep... and the birds too."

That's awesome, I'm glad some people are thinking ahead. An asteroid can hit the earth at any time, and even though we would see it coming we would be powerless to stop it.