From the air.

And then I left. Months of planning my sustainable communities trip and then departure day took me by surprise. Still working up to the time I left, I had not given much time to the flight.

Flying over western China the clouds cleared, providing some amazing vistas of the terrain, waterways and small villages.

Rocky mountain tops covered by very little snow appeared. ...followed by the Plateau of Tibet with very dry ridges, which appear to have been formed by melting snow.

But there was no snow to be seen and very little water in the river system or lakes. ...and then it all turned to sand. Windswept dry regions, with a single road running through.

It was not until we crossed over the last regions of old Russia and into central Europe that there were cultivated and productive lands.

When London finally appeared it was in comparison to the previous landscapes, the great metropolis it has become known for. A metropolis defined by uniformity of housing estates, and a seemingly lack of diversity from the air! How do we feed all these people when the ecosystems we base our lives on are drying up.

Suzette