Noah’s Ark of Seeds: The Arctic Seed Vault

(Transcription of audio podcast)

Now, let me be the first to tell you that having a savings account is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself and family. As a kid, I had a clay piggy bank, well I still have one, only it is a metal one, stops me from trying to break it open as much. You always want to make sure you have something saved for a rainy day. Or in this day and age, a Global warming day.

Seems we are always being told to save things. Save dollar, time, and resources. And ever since Katrina, it is now our nation’s slogan. The Boy Scouts started this little readiness program “Be Prepaid” I heard that everyday as a kid. Now our government is stepping up to the plate and letting us know that we should have all our ducks in a row. Just in case. You know earthquake, floods, terrorist … Oh yea and GLOBAL warming.

That is the new kid on the block. Global warming, I guess our government officials may have tipped over to the other side about global warming. You may not remember this and if you don’t, I will remind you. Our government only until recently stopped denouncing global warming. I read something recently that stated that Mr. Chaney said that there is not enough proof that humans created global warming… Hmmm … I call people like this who live in denial and have the arrogances to not take responsibility for what we have done to mother earth, I call them the “head in the cloud crowd” Which is better than the other name I came up with.” The head up … never mind.

Now, hang tight because this is going to get interesting. I saw a headline today that made me scratch my head, with both hands. Here is the headline. “Cooling to Begin at Arctic Seed Bank.” The Norwegians, decided to build what they call the “Noah’s ark of seeds. It is a concert vault tucked deep somewhere around the South Pole. The idea is that they will collect seeds from all types of plants and store them in case of a natural OR unnatural disaster. Unlike the other 1300 hundred or so, other seed vaults this one can withstand anything. Plus this vault can hold seeds for hundreds and thousands of years and will be open for new accounts early 2008.

Seems to me that maybe our government knew something more about global warming that they lead us to believe, you know, back when they did not think global warming existed. This little Frigidaire mini bar for seeds was thought up a few years ago before they joined the global warming bandwagon. Word has it that these seeds vaults were conceived back in the 80’s. Well in any case, since it seems we are getting with the environmental global game plan.

Maybe the next thing our president could do is put his John Hancock on the Kyoto Protocol, unless we’re afraid it might make the oil interest groups mad.

Anyhow, here is what strikes me as odd. This $6-million vault cost over 125,000 thousand a year to run it. It is to keep seeds well past any of our current existence, for what purpose? So, in 1000 years they can tell the story of the $6-million greenhouse that could have been feeding people of its time. At least when we made the $6-million man we got a TV show out of it. I don’t totally object to this concept. But here is my plan.

It is called: No more doomsday plans until we figure out how to take care of TODAYS plan. That is where we fix all that is broken NOW, health care, Katrina, poverty, homelessness, Global warming, TANGIBLE GOALS, don’t go any farther than 10-20 years a head. And when that is done, the we can put trillions of dollars into building human transporting machines or a pill that lets you live forever – cause who wants to live forever. And the doomsday vault: every 10 years change out the seeds. Use the seeds to grow back some of our over logged, fire burned out areas and that should keep us growing.

Besides: Why would you need to pay someone $120,000 a year to watch seeds? If you have ever had to lock up a cabin in the winter, winterize, you just shut everything off, locked it up and come back in the spring. Is this $120,000 worker there to make sure the seeds don’t grow? How do you stop that?

Hire someone with a brown thumb, not a green thumb.

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Source: The Student Operated Press

Will Roberts is a Guinness World Record holder for Cowboy six gun, a weapons expert and professional actor. He is a trick roper and cowboy humorist, who pays tribute to Will Rogers, America’s cowboy, with a wit as quick as his rope. Will is a syndicated political cartoonist and was the trick-roping cowboy at Cirque du Soleil.

Will has covered the Republican National Convention, Democrat events and Presidential debates. At home in front of or behind the camera, in front of or behind a radio microphone, Will reports what he sees, usually with a twist of humor.