Comments on: Hedging the Apocalypse

Hedging the Apocalypse

OmieWise — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:46:29 -0800

Hedging the Apocalypse: Dornith Doherty's documentary images of seed-saving facilities.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:54:15 -0800

Thanks - beautiful and chilling.

By: pracowity

pracowity — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:56:12 -0800

Is there an animal equivalent? Some sort of Egg & Sperm Savings Bank keeping animal (including human) gametes and clonable tissues on ice?

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:05:48 -0800

Some of the criticism of the seed bank seems to my way of thinking rather spot on: "Seed conservation should not have the narrow view of a seed bank as a cryogenic facility but look at a landscape as being able of functioning as a seed bank." Is there an animal equivalent? I guess something like the endangered species act which works to preserve the environment in which animal species live. This is looking at the natural landscape as capable of functioning as an animal bank and it seems better than building zoos and seed banks.

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:20:12 -0800

This is looking at the natural landscape as capable of functioning as an animal bank and it seems better than building zoos and seed banks. But isn't the whole point of a seed bank in case the natural landscape is a smoldering pile of ash? Ideally, yes, we save the landscape. But what if we can't?

By: Not Supplied

Not Supplied — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:20:35 -0800

Gonna need a good hedge to keep the zombies out. Privet or Yew does the job.

By: taz

taz — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:26:12 -0800

Fascinating and disturbing. It's a little too evocative of The Windup Girl... though when I read the book, I thought, oh yeah, people are doing this stuff right now, for sure. And of course they are.

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:42:11 -0800

Kew gardens does some fantastic work on saving seeds from around the world. They aim to have 25% of the world's species stored for the future by 2020. That's some ark.

By: Trurl

Trurl — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:42:35 -0800

Great post. But if humanity gets to the point where these facilities are needed, I'll consider that proof that our species was a bad idea in the first place.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:47:58 -0800

But isn't the whole point of a seed bank in case the natural landscape is a smoldering pile of ash? OK, but without the landscape there is no Plan B.

By: taz

taz — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:53:01 -0800

Also hedging against aggressive bioengineered crops/seeds that might wipe out all the original varieties.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:06:59 -0800

But if humanity gets to the point where these facilities are needed, I'll consider that proof that our species was a bad idea in the first place. It doesn't have to be a man-made disaster, or a global apocalypse, for this to be useful. A localized event like a volcano dumping ash on a rare species' entire range or a meteorite hitting the earth (ala dinosurs) can be potential events that need recovering from.

By: obscurator

obscurator — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:08:15 -0800

Seeds are all well and good, but you have to wait for the stuff to grow. And I'm hungry nooow. So, to ensure that Humanity 2.0 truly pulls through, we are also stockpiling plenty of Kraft cheese (Wired) while waiting for the legumes and alfalfa...

By: lydhre

lydhre — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:10:18 -0800

That is amazing and I want to work there. I want to work there so bad.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:19:26 -0800

I really need to stop typing comments on my iPhone.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:26:46 -0800

Fascinating and disturbing. It's a little too evocative of The Windup Girl... Ditto. My brain instantly went "Ah! The treasure of the biodiversity martyr! Don't listen to the Calorie Men!"

By: Gwynarra

Gwynarra — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:40:16 -0800

Cool, what an awesome idea. Also farsighted, how unusual for mankind. It's kind of like a fire extinguisher, something you maintain but hope you never have to use.

By: This, of course, alludes to you

This, of course, alludes to you — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:43:50 -0800

russian scientists choose to starve rather than give up their seed bank: Pavlovsk this makes me choke up a little

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:48:26 -0800

OK, but without the landscape there is no Plan B. No! We build gigantic space-going greenhouses tended by robots and controlled by Bruce Dern! Nothing will go wrong, honest!

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:07:22 -0800

this makes me choke up a little The fact that the collection, preserved at such cost, may well be destroyed so developers can build homes chokes me up to. Actually, it makes me want to choke someone, but, hey.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:13:48 -0800

Is there an animal equivalent? I did a previous post on rare livestock breed conservancy.

By: Miko

Miko — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:42:50 -0800

This is looking at the natural landscape as capable of functioning as an animal bank and it seems better than building zoos and seed banks. They're not mutually exclusive endeavors. "Hedge" is a really good term for it. Having the seeds banked doesn't stop any initiative at all to preserve landscape. It could even help restore landscape already lost, if that's desired and people make it happen.

By: juifenasie

juifenasie — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:57:42 -0800

Two problems: 1) [Foxes guarding the chicken coop] Clearminded individuals should ask an important question: why are biotechnology giants such as Dupont, Monsanto, and Syngenta so heavily invested in this project? Is this pure philanthopy? Why is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation involved? There is good reason to be skeptical about the ultimate intentions of companies deeply involved in GMO research. It stands to reason that companies which sponsor expensive GMO research expect to reap a generous return on their investments. What happens to the seeds when pesky reporters are not around? GM seeds in the doomsday vault? "Doomsday Seed Vault" in the Arctic 2) [Limited Shelf Life] Even if we have no qualms about allowing agribusiness giants to control the world's food supply, freezing still poses problems. Are all seeds suitable for freezing? How long will it be viable? Frozen seed, no matter how well preserved, slowly continues to deteriorate. Freezing seed is at best a hedge against disaster in the short run. Genetic diversity can only be maintained by planting and replanting unmodified seeds. As our environment continues to change, local varieties of food crops will continue to slowly adapt to changes.

By: justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:03:37 -0800

why are biotechnology giants such as Dupont, Monsanto, and Syngenta so heavily invested in this project? Genetic engineers like genetic diversity.

By: halfbuckaroo

halfbuckaroo — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:08:32 -0800

It doesn't really take something catastrophic to change the free-range world. Citrus canker has knocked out the native citrus in Florida in one generation. They have no clear idea how long it will be before the soil is clear of it. To spend an entire growing season working on a food crop and then have it destroyed by blight a week before harvest generally doesn't reinforce faith in the Universe, either.

By: korej

korej — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:05:19 -0800

Two of her large lenticular photographs are on display at the New Mexico Art museum, and they're always on our rounds to visit. Just super nifty. Thanks for the article!

By: wintermind

wintermind — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:20:07 -0800

As a USDA employee, I've had the privilege of touring the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, which is in Fort Collins, CO, twice. Their collection includes both plant and animal germplasm. The large tanks shown in one of the photos are used to store semen and embryos. There are some good scientists working there, too.

By: juifenasie

juifenasie — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:20:06 -0800

@halfbuckaroo "To spend an entire growing season working on a food crop and then have it destroyed by blight a week before harvest generally doesn't reinforce faith in the Universe, either." When people say "the Universe," do they perhaps mean that forbidden word, "G..o..d?" The Universe doesn't look out for us, but God does. God gave us Free Will: that's why human beings need moral rules (puppets don't need rules--their owners pull the strings however they see fit). God lets us decide: He expects us to use our brains to look out for ourselves. That's why GMO monocultures are a bad idea. If we rely on a handful of bioengineered crops to provide all of the world's food (a good way for biotech giants to make fortunes), what was once a localized crop failure (drought, disease etc.) can easily turn into a global disaster. The 20th century taught us that technology solves old problems while creating new ones: Better living through chemistry! Pesticides! Antibiotics! Plastics! Silent Spring? Endocrine disruptors? Bacterial resistance? Nuclear power is perfectly safe! Chernobyl? Fukushima? I'm not knocking the immense skills and know-how that bioengineers have developed, but we can't always count on their having just the right genes available to save our crops. Nature got along fine for billions of years before bioengineers came along to improve things. Biotech companies are in a hurry to make a profit on their investments, but are GMO crops our only choice? Are we really so sure we can and will control everything? As a society, maybe we should slow down and consider our values and where we want to go. Perhaps we need a good measure of humility.

By: bystander

bystander — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:04:08 -0800

When people say "the Universe," do they perhaps mean that forbidden word, "G..o..d?" Just for the removal of doubt, when I say something like this it is explicitly not any reference to an invented supernatural being called god. I suspect halfbuckaroo would have said god if the intention was to blame citrus canker on a god.