Want to get away from it all — I mean, really get away? You may want to consider the Norwegian island known as Spitsbergen. It’s pretty big, as islands go — nearly 15,000 square miles. There’s no shortage of undeveloped real estate on Spitsbergen: fewer than 3,000 people live there.

            It does get a bit chilly. Spitsbergen is just 800 miles from the North Pole — the same latitude as northern Greenland.

            Other than its splendid isolation, Spitsbergen doesn’t have a whole lot going for it — with one exception. It’s home to one of the most secure storage facilities on earth. Spitsbergen was chosen for this distinction because it’s covered by permafrost and because it’s seismically stable (no earthquakes or volcanoes). The storage facility is located high enough above sea level that it will never be flooded, not even if the polar ice caps melt.

            You reach this storage facility — deep inside a mountain — by means of a 400-foot-long tunnel, dug through solid rock and equipped with two air locks. It boasts a state-of-the-art security system and elaborate climate and humidity controls. Temperature is maintained at a brisk zero degrees year-round. Its super-hardened walls — one meter thick — and its blast-proof doors are designed to survive a nuclear war.

            Sounds like the lair of a James Bond super-villain, doesn’t it?

            So, what do you suppose they store in the vault deep inside that mountain, under the permafrost? Nuclear waste? Samples of deadly viruses? Electronic backups of everything on the Internet?

            No. This super-secure storage facility opened in 2008 for the sole purpose of storing seeds. The Norwegian government administers it, funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

            The Svalbar

...approximately 1,572 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.