8 November 2006
Yellow Thing Gets an Extreme Makeover
by Adam, onboard the Esperanza
©Greenpeace/Alex Hofford
So we are now well on our way to San Diego and it is time for an update on the adventures of the intrepid Yellow Thing. However, I would not be British if I did not mention the weather: over the last few days - the change has been dramatic. Gone are the azure skies and crystal clear seas. Instead, the sky is heavy and foreboding and each dark wave is crowned with white foam. We all long to reach the coast; the warmth and shelter of San Diego.
Even the Yellow Thing does not like these seas. Not only is launching and recovery difficult but the plastic that we are interested in, is, as best, neutrally buoyant. Seas as rough as these churn the water and mix the plastic down through the water column. Sampling now would not give us an accurate measure of the amount present in this part of the ocean.
Instead we have been taking the time to overhaul the Yellow Thing. The last 8 months at sea have taken their toll. Just like when any metal that enters the soup, rust prevails. A paint job was necessary as the orange thing doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well. Three days later and with the help of many hands we are now proud to present the new, the improved, even brighter yellow thing!
She is now ready to crest the waves once more. To sample where no plastic sample has been collected before. To do her bit for science, to help us inform our society of the magnitude of its impact on the 70% of the planet that we do not inhabit.
Editor's Note: Listen to an interview with Adam on BBC
Comments
Oh Yellow Thing, shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his golden complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Yellow Thing,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee, oh Yellow Thing.
Posted by: steve-o at November 9, 2006 9:01 PM
Hi,
I am just wondering why you consider the yellow thing to be female. Or is it like in one of the "Hot chocolate" songs?
Best,
t
Posted by: thilo at November 9, 2006 11:11 PM
Of course the Yellow Thing is a girl - boys NEVER pick up rubbish!!!!
Well done all of you and I am very happy to see dear Ol' Yella looking so pretty again
love Sara
Posted by: sara at November 10, 2006 1:54 PM
Wow, never has a thing so yellow inspired so many. And in answer to Thilo - Hot Chocolate songs? I was thinking more like The Kinks ... you know, is it a girl or is it a boy who just walks like a girl and talks like a girl....
Posted by: Adele at November 10, 2006 2:16 PM
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