 Hi, I'm Dave Yaksimer and I'm going to be your instructor for Earth 109, the Fundamentals of Shale Energy Development. If you see, I'm out here in the beautiful north-central part of Pennsylvania in the Tyodot and State Forest and behind me is Little Pine State Park. On the ridges around me, there's actually been a fair amount of shale energy development that's occurred. So one of the tricks of balancing our need for energy, yet our need for recreation, is to have appropriate regulations and appropriate engineering and appropriate policies in place to make sure that the energy we need is developed in a socially responsible way as well as an environmentally responsible way. Throughout the semester, we'll look at shale energy development from many perspectives, including the geology, the technology, the environmental implications, the social implications, the policy, the regulation, the legality, and really give you a full-blown picture of what shale energy development is all about. So I welcome you this semester and I look forward to getting to know you each better.