The Mississippi River crested at Vicksburg yesterday at a record high of 14.1 feet above flood stage, but did not breach the main levee or inundate the city.

And thus the first stage of our trip down the Yangzi River began.

"As the river stage falls and protection diminishes," says Lane, "it becomes a question of how best to distribute this freshwater resource to defend the coast from the movement of oil onshore."