elsewhere on the same day kayak champion tom mckeown gets himself ready for the olympic trials by taking on the challenge of an unfamiliar river jake a piece counts in self a lucky grandfather this thanksgiving despite a recent heart attack he's recovered enough to drive a hundred miles from canada so he can be with his daughters and their families th separated across the miles these people will never meet yet on this day they will share a common hazard each will have a close brush with destiny some may not be so fortunate thanksgiving a time for families to warm in the glow of shared memories laugh together over familiar stories share their plans and hopes for the future there's little thought here of the world's problems little thought it's an exciting day for jimmy howard the first time his father is taken  a third grader jimmy's been studying about pollution and scold high the subject will take on a much more direct and personal meaning for him in a few hours from now has kayak the rapids of many a frame and rest he makes whitewater kayaking look so easy you almost forget about the skill and he rarely gets overturned if he does he can go right on  come up the other side hardly losing a stroke waiting scientists have greatly expanded our knowledge of pollution how much there is where it is what's causing it and how we can combat it a star performer among satellite lands every day snaps hundreds of electronic pictures it takes three images at a time in separate frequency bands when combined in special ways composites of these photos reveals startling new look earth the pictures roll out of the processing lab in a never ending stream and provide vital information to researchers all over the united states and around the world  aboard nasa's orbiting workshop called sky lab a team of astronauts scientists point their special cameras and instruments at the sun probing for insights into new energy sources but the vast array of sophisticated equipment is primarily focused on the earth to discover new ways of understanding some of our prob mckeown reminds us of the way things used to be a solitary figure on water is that once we're crowded with people on how many lakes and rivers have we lost the chance to enjoy simple pleasures our a hundred years ago smokestacks were a proud symbol of industrial progress they meant jobs for the people products in the stores refuse from a plant was a local problem disfiguring only one tiny bit of land water or air it seemed a small price to pay for more jobs higher salaries a rapidly improved standard of living scum in the river but a chicken in the pot every sunday a spent in the air but a car in the garage pollution grew around us slowly at first then more and more rapidly until one day at last we stepped out of our comfortable air conditioned television equipped homes and noticed that something had gone wrong with our once pretty world pollution was no longer a local problem out of the rapids now and gliding gently with the car and tom seems to attack safely through the most challenging part of his afternoon adventure yet in fact he's knowledge exposed to a far greater danger than the ra where the river's pollution is at its most virulent overturning could bring ear infection dysentery hepatitis the truth about the river is nowhere so clearly revealed as a nasa satellite photograph the most highly polluted areas show in light blue by adding artificial colors to different photo images of the same scene researchers have learned how to unlock a fantastic array of earthly secrets whether range land ice and snow patterns of silt in a river photo taken on that thanksgiving day examining it later scientists would discover an event never before observed visible only from a platform in space industrial plants along the shore of the lake smoke from the factories carried by the wind across the lake cloud a storm cloud formed not by nature but artificially by the smoke and somewhere down there below those clouds jacob pieces on his way home and that's the community calendar for today there's an important change our local weather forecast for counties the lake florida seven and turning much colder  snowball like they began of course under local officials say snow emergency plan two will be in effect for the metropolitan area the afternoon is wearing on and jimmy and his father have only one fish to show so far not much but enough to please a young assistant fisherman on his first time out poisoned the fish may be poisoned men who have grown up fishing in these waters are stunned by the news to jimmy and the other boys it's bewildering how could it ha an artificial color photo from a nasa satellite reveals what is invisible to the naked eye offshore is a dumping ground for acid waste but one toxic load has been accidentally dumped much closer to the coastline now tides are carrying it toward the shore alerted by the satellite information officials now know they must keep a close check on the threat to swimmers and  has not escaped the hazard that surrounded him and he has brought his kayak safely through the white water even though pollution still remains a constant threat in the potomac river even as it passes the historic shrines in washington never before had this been so directly observed on the basis of the satellite pictures of the companies will the author dystopic pollution from their smokestacks in this way satellites are providing more accurate and reliable weather information by helping to stop the inadvertent weather modification can satellites help point the way toward solving the problems of pollution besides revealing a portrait of the earth nasa spacecraft have also been gazing outward toward the sun  source of energy if we could find a way practical ways to tap the sun's power we could and much of the pollution that comes from fossil fuels coal oil and gas this precious planet this earth our only home through careless decades we had some just in time the satellite now gives us a view of pollution impossible to get in any other way one day we will again swim in the potomac breathe clean air live in harmony with the land until then the satellites of nasa will be at work providing information to deal with the pollution below