From NYTimes.com: Buried Seed Vault Opens in Arctic

There are something like 1,400 seed banks around the world, guarding samples of crop plants ranging from alfalfa to yams. But, as I wrote last year, this agricultural archive is eroding under forces including war, storms, scant money or bad management, particularly in the world's poorest or most turbulent places. A Fort Knox has been needed, many experts said. Now they have it.

I always thought something like this is a good idea.  It's like having a backup copy of data.  If something catastrophic happens, you have the ability to get it back.