Hans Schreier is a Professor at the Institute for Resources and Environment at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on watershed management, land-water interactions, and soil and water pollution, as well as on interdisciplinary evaluations of mountain processes. He has dedicated much of his research time to water and resource issues in the Himalayas and Andes and has developed a number of multi-media CD-ROMs to create awareness of mountain processes. He also developed four distance education courses on watershed management that are delivered via the Internet. Participants from the remotest mountain systems of the world can thus participate in this educational program. He believes that looking to the mountains may give us an early indication of what's in store for the entire planet.