Climate+change+and+the+Svalbard+Global+Seed+Vault

 //Flora Carr. "Climate Change May Flood Norway’s Doomsday Seed Vault." Time. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < [] > // Published on 27 February 2018 Accessed on 4 March 2018 **Summary:** The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also informally known as the “doomsday” seed vault, is the world’s largest storage unit of seeds. It is called the “doomsday” seed vault because it was built to withstand even the worst conditions. This Arctic seed vault was built to withstand earthquakes and explosions; further, it is said that even if all the ice on earth melts, it will still be above sea level. This is because it is located inside a mountain about 620 miles from the North Pole; the cold mountain keeps the entire vault at temperature of about -18ºC. At the seed vault, over one million varieties of seeds are stored there from all over the world—including North Korea. No genetically modified seeds are stored there. This seed vault is important because it serves as a sort of insurance for plants in case of extreme natural or man-made disasters. However, because of unseasonably warm changes, it risks flooding. The Norwegian plans to invest millions of more dollars into preventing a disaster at the vault from occurring. **Relevance to Course:** This is relevant to environmental science because it discusses the adverse effects of global warming (Miller 512). This issue also strongly relates to the “Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability” which focuses on living sustainably (Miller 5). A sustainable society manages its economy and population size without exceeding all or part of the planet’s ability to absorb environmental insults, replenish its resources, and sustain human and other forms of life over a specified period (Miller 5). **Opinion:** According to Jon Georg Dale, Norway’s minister of agriculture and food believes that “It is a great and important task to safeguard all the genetic material that is crucial to global food security”. I agree with this statement because without being proactive and preparing for the future, there will be deleterious consequences. For example, the importance of the seed vault has already been shown by Syria’s withdrawal of their seeds when they were needed during Syria’s Middle East agricultural breeding programme in the midst of civil war. **Environmental Law:** New research shows that countries around the world are falling short of greenhouse gas goals in the Paris climate deal, and the consequences will likely be unprecedented extreme weather (Ellis). The Paris climate deal is one of many examples of ordinances and agreements that have been implemented in the hopes of preserving and protecting the environment and ozone layer by limiting greenhouse gases. “We are not prepared for today’s climate, let alone for another degree of global warming,” says study author Noah Diffenbaugh, a Stanford University professor of earth system science. Unfortunately, the withdrawal of the United States, a key polluter, from the Paris climate accord is a step backward for the environment.

Flora Carr. "Climate Change May Flood Norway’s Doomsday Seed Vault." Time. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < [] >N.a. "Inside the Svalbard Seed Vault - YouTube." Youtube.com. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < [] > <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Justin Worland. "Scientists Issued a Grim New Warning on Climate Change." Time. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">> <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Liat Clark. "Syria returns its mass of seeds to the Arctic 'Doomsday vault'." Wired.co.uk. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">> <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Gul Tuysuz And Arwa Damon, Cnn. "'Doomsday Vault' opens to retrieve seeds for Syria - CNN." CNN. 19 Oct. 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">> <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Jonathan Ellis. "The Paris Climate Deal: What You Need to Know." Nytimes.com. 1 Jun. 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2018. < <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">>
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