In the event of an emergency, head to Svalbard

Today marks the first day of construction in Norway for a global security vault in Svalbard. In the event of a large-scale, global disaster, the vault is designed to protect millions and millions of seeds, from almost every type of food on earth. “Seed banks” like this exist in countries across the world, but the one in Svalbard is designed to be the ultimate repository (and backup).

More than 100 nations have endorsed the vault’s construction.

This is fascinating stuff to me. Really stunning, when you stop to think about it.

The one question on my mind (and the more I think about it, I’m only half-kidding about this): what’s the keycode combination to get in? I mean… say, I’m one of the lucky survivors who make it through. I trek all the way over to Svalbard, only to find the doors sealed shut? I’m curious how we get in, in case… god forbid, something happens.

Hm. The more I think about it, the more planning I need to do. Which way is it again, to Svalbard?

Links here:
Original post on MetaFilter
Article – the Seatle Times
Article – Norden
Article – Bloomberg
The Global Crop Diversity Trust