Flash in the Pan

In this Reuters story, it seems that an independent group - with construction funding from the Norwegian government and operating money from the Global Crop Diversity Trust - is building a naturally-chilled freezer for plan specimens. A tunnel almost 400 feet into the side of a mountain will hold samples of 1.5 million agricultural plants. The concern? Global warming. Rising water levels, floods, storms, and other disasters resulting from climate change could wipe out variations on specific crops, and that's unhealthy for long-term survival. Scientists might need all sorts of genetic variety to create plants that could withstand the changes in sunlight, temperature, diseases, and insects a warmer planet might bring.