Arctic Insurance

An unusual kind of deposit is now being made in a $9.1 million vault, recently built above Norway’s Arctic Circle. Scientists hope to deposit samples of 4.5 million varieties of seeds in case of war or natural disaster. One reason behind this “doomsday vault” is ongoing worries about the threat of humans to the planet’s genetic diversity.

At the ceremony preceding the first seed deposit, the vault was called a “frozen Garden of Eden,” and some compared it to a modern-day Noah’s Ark. Ironically, these biblical allusions remind us about the real source of plant diversity. The Creator originally “deposited” all this incredible diversity in just a few plant kinds, which He created six thousand years ago. Amazingly, the plants that survived Noah’s Flood had plenty of information to diversify into all the wonderful plant varieties we see today.

While humans have a duty to be good stewards of resources, we must always acknowledge our dependence on the wise Creator and Sustainer of all the earth’s resources.

^*Associated Press, “Doomsday Vault,” Cincinnati Enquirer, February 27, 2008, A9.