David Harris

Both environmental science and education are in my family background. My father was a mining engineer. Several older relatives were public school teachers. My great uncle was a noted political scientist of the Post-War era. I always had plenty of "serious" books and magazines to read.

My original academic interest was language, Spanish being a natural choice for an American thinking about teaching high school. After losing interest in this career path, my father suggested that I get a second degree in urban planning and be an urban planner. After I started on this program, my academic advisors encouraged me to get a Phd. in Geography, possibly even teach at the college level. That's what I did. Beginning in the early 1990s up to the present, my occupation has been teaching college-level Geography and Environmental Science.