Shaken & Stirred: The Future is Now

« Misc. Excuse Moi | Main | Go Away Winter »

February 26, 2008

The Future is Now

A "doomsday" seed vault built to protect millions of food crops from climate change, wars and natural disasters opened Tuesday deep within an Arctic mountain in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.

"The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is our insurance policy," Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told delegates at the opening ceremony. "It is the Noah's Ark for securing biological diversity for future generations."

Someone needs to do some more watching of post-apocalyptic horror movies.

*I kid. Of course, it's a good idea. I mean, I personally have always wanted to be ruled by a WHEAT-BASED ROBOT OVERLORD.

Posted in Science Project | Permalink

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

I read about this a short while back and also saw it on the Today Show this morning. I think it's a great idea. I can think of worse things to stockpile.

Posted by: MaryP | February 26, 2008 at 13:39

Oh, I know, Mary -- I'm just being a smartypants.

Posted by: Gwenda | February 26, 2008 at 13:49

What, you weren't planning to hide in there? Who better than a secret hereditary cult of subterranean Norwegian agronomists to rebuild civilization after the disaster?

Posted by: David Moles | February 26, 2008 at 14:09

Dude, it's Svalbard. The ice bears will have annexed that place by now.

Posted by: Gwenda | February 26, 2008 at 14:13

Oh, I knew you we're kidding. I think the "wheat-based robot" was a pretty good hint ; )

Posted by: MaryP | February 26, 2008 at 14:43

See, this is the sort of thing that puts the science writer in me (who's saying "cool!" as she takes a break from researching plant genetics for an article) and the fiction writer in me (who just finished copyedits of her book about a world full of killer plants) totally at odds with each other. :-)

Posted by: Janni | February 26, 2008 at 14:56

No worries, Gwenda; we'll defeat them with our arsenal of plot holes and continuity errors.

Posted by: David Moles | February 26, 2008 at 14:56

Have you read "Siberia" by Ann Halam? She loosely based it on the seed bank in Leningrad which was held during the more than two year siege of WWII by the scientists - many of whom lost their lives.

In "Siberia" the protagonist is saving DNA strands, but the principle is the same (and the book is OUTSTANDING)!

Posted by: Colleen | February 26, 2008 at 16:22

Totally creepy. And I love that it's Svalbard. How cool a place name is that? Almost as cool as "Bolvanger".

Posted by: Laini | March 02, 2008 at 15:19

About

Appendices

Read Read

E. Lockhart: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The
You might think the world doesn't need any more boarding school novels, but if you haven't read this one then you're wrong, wrong, wrong. E. Lockhart has surpassed herself with this fable of a girl coming into her own and challenging the boy's club at her prep school -- while falling in love with its members at the same time. Lockhart never simplifies or skirts gender issues and power dynamics, and lets Frankie be realistic instead of a treatise disguised as a character. The sly omniscient narrator tells the story perfectly, and leaves hope that maybe one girl can change the world. More novels as funny and true and perfect as this one, please.
Kathi Appelt: The Underneath
Appelt's first novel is a beautiful, magical fantasy for younger readers that will instantly become a classic. Seriously. I can imagine this book being in classrooms right alongside Charlotte's Web in a hundred years. The writing is poetic in the good way, and there's a lamia. Children are going to absolutely fall in love with Appelt's equally kind and brutal universe, where love conquers most, and it can take millenia to come to your senses.
Jincy Willett: The Writing Class
With her second novel, Willett matches the perfect pitch and execution of her brilliant short stories. Every writer will want to read this novel--very little wincing is involved, but expect a great deal of laughter. C and I found ourselves reading pieces aloud, after howling provoked the "what's so funny?" question. As with any good writing workshop or class, the characters become more appealing as you get to know them, and ultimately what she has pulled off is a satisfying mystery, and a satisfying exploration of humanity. Amy Gallup is a character to remember.
Karen Joy Fowler: Wit's End
A new novel by Karen Fowler really is something to be excited about, unlike many of the writers for whom such praise gets bandied about. (If you're smirking because you think you know something about her work from the title--not the book--The Jane Austen Book Club, please go sit in the corner and read any of her novels. You're welcome.) This is an unmystery-like mystery, concerned not so much with dead bodies--though there are plenty--as with the mysteries of healing and the heart, politics and people. How is it that a writer gets a lens on the present that's as revealing as the one she employs in historical fiction? Now that's a mystery. Highly recommended.
Steve Erickson: Zeroville
Steve Erickson novels are often like dreams, or revelations, or discovered artifacts, or written just for you. Zeroville's no different, although it is perhaps the most readily graspable example of his work to date. The Rosetta Stone is there; the secret decoder ring is a film projector. The dizzying Hollywood confidential stylings will make your inner film geek happy, but the uncovering of a truly mythic cinematic story--since cinema has existed forever--of sacrifice and redemption is even more memorable. See also: this review.
Ursula Dubosarsky: The Red Shoe (Neal Porter Books)
Set in Sydney during WWII, this wonderful novel travels between the view from inside each of three sisters. Dubosarsky perfectly captures the differences that come from being the younger, older, or middle child. Perfectly conjuring the period, and yet creating a completely accessible story, the narrative contrasts chapters focusing on the family with interstitials from the Sydney newspapers of the time, stories of polio, the H-bomb, and a defecting Russian spy (who happens to be in hiding next door). Nothing here is heavy-handed. Everything is perfectly balanced. It's a beautiful, beautiful novel. See my full take here.