Science
Inside The Global Seed Vault: Earth’s ‘Safest Place’ Only Opens Six Times A Year
The’safest place on planet Earth’ is a vault that scientists have developed to protect against global warming, but it is only open for visits six times a year.
Every year, the scary possibility of climate change becomes more evident, and actions taken by some billionaires have sparked alarming warnings that it may be too late to make a difference.
Fortunately, scientists have been taking measures to get Earth ready for what they believe to be the inevitable. These measures range from strange initiatives that try to deflect sunlight away from Earth to more sustainable energy sources.
The construction of an extremely safe vault on a mountainside in Spitsbergen, which is part of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, is arguably the most drastic and maybe essential scientifically supported precaution.
Though it has six levels of security and is 130 meters above sea level, seeds, not people, will end up holed up inside the vault at the end of time.
Samples of about half of the world’s most essential food crops are kept in a storage vault at about -18°C, ensuring that we have a way to survive in far harsher circumstances.
For instance, there are drought-resistant Syrian crops and food seed stockpiles that are susceptible to loss in severe weather events like floods.
Some seeds have already been removed, despite Simon Jeppson, the manager of the seed vault, estimating in an interview with the BBC that this project may last for 4,000 years.
The backups offered here have rescued ruined harvests in the Middle East, demonstrating already how crucial it could be when the entire world is dealing with the same problems.
Unfortunately, the World Economic Forum stated in 2017 that the vault’s entrance was destroyed as permafrost unexpectedly melted and flooded the area, proving that it is not immune to Earth’s perils.
Fortunately, the water only reached the 15-meter entrance hall and had no effect on the seed homes within, but it may indicate that this “impervious” vault isn’t as infallible as it once was and that changes may be necessary if it is truly to save humanity.
Potential issues are also brought up in social media comments, where one user wonders what would happen if the key was misplaced and another suggests that “at least two such seed vaults adequately distanced from each other” be established in order to prevent reliance on a single location.
Another points out the rather depressing need for such a vault, arguing that “it’s actually quite unsettling thinking that this place even exists, and then the need for it one day might be real.”
The vault is a great tool to have in any case to make sure that seeds are never permanently lost, even if we don’t quite reach the limits it is designed to withstand.
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