His BA (University of Calgary), MA (Wilfrid Laurier University) and Ph.D. (McMaster University) are all in Geography. He was a faculty member at the universities of Toronto (Ontario), Bishop's(Quebec)and Lethbridge (Alberta). He has written about water management and politics in the Middle East, and in Lebanon. He published a book titled Water in the Middle East: A Geography of Peace (2000 -- with A.T. Wolf; University of Texas Press). He also published articles or chapters on Islam and the Environment, the Role of Dams in Lebanon's Water Management, Islamic water management, and the looming threat of water wars in the Middle East.