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EarthArk

EarthArk Project Logo

The EarthArk is a storage place for all of the good things that the Earth has provided and modern humanity has created. It is designed so that when the future brings changes to our present Earth the future people will be able to choose from those things and rebuild the best of what we now have.

The environment is changing, as it always has and it always will, but if we create a place where all of the good things about our present life are preserved then the world that will come into being in the future can become a much better place. For example, if we take small amounts of seeds from our currently vast agricultural supply and also from the wild things and store them in a very cold place they will remain viable for a very long time into the future. The EarthArk Project is an all inclusive plan that aims to ultimately store the genomes and seeds of every species on Earth. Also to be included are examples of modern technology and complete library of books. Because it is impossible to know exactly what will be needed in the future the aim is to store a sample of everything.

Seeds of agricultural plants like rice, wheat and corn will obviously be needed so should be stored in large quantities, including  some of every genetic variety. There should be enough of these commercial seeds to start a really substantial crop. Most of the living things of the Earth are not agricultural crops but these other living things also need to be saved. Every place on our planet has its own unique plants and animals that are adapted to that locality and they need to have their genomes and seeds stored if they are to be available in the future.

The goal of the EarthArk is to store seeds and soil from every square kilometer of the Earth because every place is unique. The way to do this requires that a few people from everywhere to travel about their local area and collect samples. They then deposit them to some local collection place, like a school, which in turn ships these items to a central shipping container. This container when filled is shipped to a designated cold storage spot. The best long term storage places are in Antarctica so the containers will be shipped to the ports on that continent’s shores and taken inland to remote high and permanently cold places.

The total cost for this enormous project is very small in terms of money or effort for any given person because all of the collecting is done by people living near where they collect their samples. The collection samples can be quite small because only a relatively few seeds of any particular item is all that is necessary from a given locality. The containers could be small plastic bags, either discarded local containers or heavier duty specially made containers. Every item should be labeled as to the exact locality where found but this isn’t a severe problem because when brought to the local collection station they will be placed in a larger container which is labeled for its general locality.

The cost of the shipping containers could be paid for by a general plea to the public for money in small amounts or by asking people to will their money, at death, to the project. That would be appealing, because most people want to be remembered for leaving a positive impact on the world. This can be done naming each container with the name of the donor who purchased the container and paid for its shipment. This naming of packages can  be carried all the way to each item which would have the name of the person collecting it. Their names could be attached to the larger package and that list copied onto the shipping container’s manifest. That in turn could be uploaded to a worldwide list of names of contributors.

Many people are interested in helping to preserve humanity and the Earth for the future and this EarthArk Project gives them a very visible and meaningful way to accomplish that end.

Help save the Earth for the future by supporting the EarthArk Project.