Doomsday is the stuff of science fiction. But a real scientific plan is in place in Norway to preserve flora beyond the end of the world. Nicknamed “Doomsday Vault,” the Svalbard International Seed Vault will store samples of every variety of crop available in every country in the world. The aim is to ensure agricultural biodiversity in case man destroys Earth by nuclear war or climate change, or external factors like a meteor collision or another Ice Age occur.
The joint project of Norway’s government and Global Crop Diversity Trust conjures images from sci-fi movies. As reported by the Internet info website HowStuffWorks, Doomsday Vault will be located in the Svalbard island chain in the Arctic Sea a thousand kilometers from the Norwegian mainland. The vault entrance is on a mountainside chosen for its perpetual ice chill any time of the year, ideal to preserve seeds. At 130 meters, Mount Spitsbergen is also high enough from the sea to be safe from rising levels due to global warming. Environment scientists calculate that if warm climate melts the entire continent of Antarctica, the seas will rise 60 meters. Once fully constructed in Sept., the vault will be maintained at a frigid temperature of -18 centigrade, just right to keep seeds alive for hundreds of years without germinating. But even if the giant freezer breaks down, the seed vault can survive on natural temperature of -5 centigrade year-round.
Upon completing the vault, the Global Crop Diversity Trust will fill it up with seeds donated by governments and scientists worldwide. Doomsday Vault will also serve as the central bank of 1,400 smaller seed vaults around the world. It is actually made up of two vaults, encased in concrete, to contain up to three million seeds. (The UN reportedly has estimated at 75 percent the crop diversity so far lost due to ecological damage.) Each seed will have its own container, and complete instructions on origin and use. Doomsday survivors will be able to use the seeds to replant the Earth for food, clothing and shelter.
For security, the vaults can be reached via several reinforced doors through a permafrost concrete tunnel 120 meters inside the mountain. The entrance, tunnel and vaults will be monitored round the clock by surveillance cameras and laser alarms. Engineers designed the complex to run even if unmanned, Portions of the vaults and tunnels will have natural lighting from the sun or moon.
Sleek, huh? Now all you have to do in case of an Earth-shattering catastrophe is to get to the mountain called Spitsbergen on Svalbard Island, climb up 130 meters, break down the metal entrance door, walk through more doors in 120 meters of tunnel, and pick out from the vaults the seeds you need to restart life on Earth.
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Back to more mundane Philippine matters, The STAR reader Jorge Andrade writes from Osaka, Japan:
“Recently my nephew, a high school student at the Ateneo, was a victim of stoning near the Stud Farm of the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City. Apparently the modus operandi is to throw rocks at a moving vehicle, and when it stops the passengers are robbed. The rock thrown at the taxicab my nephew was riding hit him in the face, breaking his nose. His parents already have spent a huge amount for the injury. They will spend more for reconstructive surgery. My sister-in-law went to the UP police headquarters to request for a police report so she can file a medical insurance claim. The officer there released the document only after demanding money. Numerous other crimes are happening in that area.”
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Regional Officer Editha U. Barrameda, of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board in Central Luzon, responds swiftly to the complaint of an OFW-homebuyer about non-release of his land title (Gotcha, 11 July 2007):
“This has reference to your article regarding the complaint of Ronaldo H. Balas for alleged failure to deliver the Transfer Certificate of Title of Lot 9 Block 21 located at Grand Victoria Estates Subd., Cabanatuan City. Our records reveal that no complaint has been filed with this office. But may we advise you to inform Mr. Balas to seek assistance from our Regional Field Office No. III at 2/F David Bldg., Dolores At., San Fernando Pampanga, so that appropriate action may be taken relative to his problem.”
I think it would be better for Ms Barrameda’s office to directly correspond with Mr. Balas via the addresses I wrote in that column item.
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