The World
As interesting as the numbers is the fact that the study was published in the state-run Chinese-language Oriental Outlook magazine. Chinese authorities are touchy about religion, restricting religious practices to constrain groups seen as potentially challenging Communist Party authority.
Building the Fort Knox of Seeds
On a remote Arctic island, not far from the North Pole, Norway is about to start construction of a "doomsday vault" to safeguard a uniquely valuable resource-seed samples of nearly every food crop on Earth-from a global catastrophe such as massive crop disease, biological contamination, or nuclear war.
The Svalbard International Seed Vault, due to go into operation by late 2008, is intended to hold in cold storage as many as 3 million seeds to combat the loss of biological diversity, to reduce vulnerability of agricultural production to climate change, and to secure future food production capability. The Norwegian government is paying the $3 million construction cost, and there are plans for governments, foundations, and seed companies to fund a $260 million endowment to sustain the facility in perpetuity.
While there are other seed collections, this facility is seen as the bank of last resort, the backup for the whole world. It will be carved into a mountainside, kept cold by the natural permafrost, and secured with fences, blastproof doors, air locks, and motion detectors. "The presence of polar bears, which prowl the area," say organizers, "may be seen by some as providing an additional layer of security."
With Associated Press
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