Yes, this is the frozen *doomsday* seed vault of the world. When either climate change (brought on by human greed), or global nuclear war (brought on by human stupidity) - Sees to it that crops fail everywhere. Then this is the place which will save the day! https://www.croptrust.org/
Let's hope we never get to the stage where we have to use the seed vault. It's good to know that it's there though - just in case.
Yes Eileen, I too hope that such a stage never comes. And realistically speaking, it isn't all that likely to happen. Because I myself have seen the efforts people are making for a renewable and green future. So with each passing day, things are likely to only get better, not worse. So this global seed vault is like having an umbrella - Take it with you when the sky is overcast, and it will never rain. But forget to take it even once, thinking that the sky is only partly cloudy, and so will not rain - Is he day we get drenched. So yes, it's good to know that such a fail-safe mechanism is always there, (just in case)... You're welcome Hank - It is something that I often think about a lot, few times a day actually. About what would happen?... If this?... Or that?... Ever occurred in reality? Where will the rescue come from? Answer will always be a technological one indeed, but are we right now doing anything at all to prepare for such an eventuality - No matter how unlikely??? Because all of written history is proof, that only when had not realized something in time, is when we always paid a heavy price... But thankfully, we today have something like a lifeboat, whenever the global agricultural collapse occurs. Hopefully it will never happen. So in the future this place may one day only function as an exotic museum. But for now, it's good to know that we at least have something stored away for a rainy day...
Svalbard is a very strange place but the inhabitants love it. They either have darkness 24/7 or sun 24/7 with a few transition weeks between the two. Polar bears roam freely and the plant life is extraordinary. There are also lots and lots of fossils to be found. Once upon a time it was tropical, imagine that!
