Lisa A. Emili

Reading Our Common Future as an undergraduate student in the physical sciences was my first introduction to environmentalism and environmental issues in a globally inclusive context. I realized that in order to truly understand the water resource problems that I was interested in studying, I would to need pursue a course of study and research that sought to understand both the inter-action of bio-physical processes and the equally complex relationship between humans and the natural environment. In 1987, this seminal book was a call for collective action towards the common goal of sustainable development and environmental preservation. While the path to sustainability was started, we still have a long way to go and this call to action still holds true for the current generation -- bringing the world to the reader.