The Green and the Black: The Complete Story of the Shale Revolution, the Fight over Fracking, and the Future of Energy

by Gary Sernovitz

Gary Sernovitz leads a double life. A typical New York liberal, he is also an oilman - a fact his left-leaning friends let slide until the word "fracking" entered popular parlance. "How can you frack?" they suddenly demanded, aghast. But for Sernovitz, the real question is, "What happens if we don't?"Fracking has become a four-letter word to environmentalists. But most people don't know what it means. In his fast-paced, funny, and lively book, Sernovitz explains the reality of what it is, how it can be made safer, and how the oil business works. He also tells the bigger story. Fracking was just one part of a shale revolution that shocked our assumptions about fueling America's future. The revolution has transformed the world with consequences for the oil industry, investors, environmentalists, political leaders, and anyone who lives in areas shaped by the shales, uses fossil fuels, or cares about the climate - in short, everyone. Thanks to American engineers' oilfield innovations, the United States is leading the world in reducing carbon emissions, has sparked a potential manufacturing renaissance, and may soon eliminate its dependence on foreign energy. Once again the largest oil and gas producer in the world, America has altered its balance of power with Russia and the Middle East.Yet the shale revolution has also caused local disruptions and pollution. It has prolonged the world's use of fossil fuels. Is there any way to reconcile the costs with the benefits of fracking?To do so, we must start by understanding fracking and the shale revolution in their totality. The Green and the Black bridges the gap in America's energy education. With an insider's firsthand knowledge and unprecedented clarity, Sernovitz introduces readers to the shales - a history-upturning "Internet of oil" - tells the stories of the shale revolution's essential characters, and addresses all the central controversies. To capture the economic, political, and environmental prizes, we need to adopt a balanced, informed perspective. We need to take the green with the black. Where we go from there is up to us.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Business, Politics, Geology, Technology

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 23, 2016

About the author

Gary Sernovitz has spent the last quarter-century working in and observing how money works, from Goldman Sachs to nearly twenty years at a private equity firm where he is now a managing director. He has also brought his keen writer's eye to America and business through two previous published novels, a non-fiction book, and numerous essays and reviews in The New York Times, The New Yorker online, n+1, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.

A native of Milwaukee and longtime resident of New York, Gary now lives in New Orleans with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Lonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

This book is a stupendous achievement by a very thoughtful and knowledgable participant in the energy revolution that has been going on in this country for the last decade. It needs to be widely read and discussed.

[Russ Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on the Shale Revolution and a good introduction to the O&G industry. The book was not overly technical and explained key concepts in relatively layman terms. The book does a good job in describing how the Shale Revolution changed the O&G industry landscape and its implication for both the US and the industry.

I recommend watching some Youtube videos as a complement to help visualise the fracking process.

Coming in with little knowledge about O&G, I learn a lot from the front section of the book. IMO, the front section was the most useful part of the book. The other sections are okay-ish and I didn't find it particularly insightful, except for some interesting facts.

The typical argument in the book goes like this: Fracking has its negative effects (environmental and social), but also supports the economy through the multiplier effects, lowering energy prices, reducing current account deficits, create jobs etc etc.

The author's sarcasm and attempt at humour seemed unnecessary at times.

[Rik Brooymans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent primer for those wishing to contribute a little more than oft-repeated talking points from either side of the shale/fracking debate to their next dinner party conversation.

Sernovitz offers an interesting perspective and I loved the way he broke the complex debate down to five distinct subsections - local, national, international, financial and industrial - to review the pros and cons. He never loses sight that each point has a (usually) equally valid counter-point and that this is about charting a path constructed of compromises.

Plus, anyone that footnotes a quote from an episode of the Simpsons gets a full thumbs-up from me.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

provocative and attention-keeping read. I may have missed over it, but working at Mitchell Energy at the time, I know that what enabled development of the Barnett shale in Wise County was a very advantageous gas sales contract, and that allowed for the high costs of fracking the tight rock. I found the storytelling somewhat frustrating because of the even handed treatment of both oil and gas producers and frack protesters, but I have to admit that's a more accurate reflection of the reality.

[Grace Guarraia · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a new(ish) Houstonian, I wanted to educate myself on the importance of the oil and gas industry. Sernovitz delivers a compelling argument, drawing on the history of the US Shale Revolution and tying in multiple critical points regarding manufacturing, politics, and international relations. While I found the writing to be juvenile and disjointed at times, Sernovitz nevertheless delivered a strong, well-researched narrative on both the importance and future of fossil fuels.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

He seems a bit too biased towards the black side, though I imagine he is much less so than many others in his field. He also makes way too many bad jokes. All that being said, I definitely learned a great deal here and highly recommend this book

[Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on fracking from the perspective of no knowledge on the topic. Some interesting regarding the amount of natural gas the US contains and how prepared we are as a country with our own 'Saudi' fuel supply.

[Ed Terrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of the development of horizontal drilling and hydralic fracturing. Good detail on the nuts and bolts of the operations known as fracking. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to know more about oil and gas extraction in the US.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun book on fracking. Worth while read for anyone wanting to learn more on this issue!

[Leigh Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 360-degree analysis of the current energy landscape, delivered with clarity and wit.

Sernovitz is in a weird position. Because he works for the financial wing of the oil and gas industry, he knows a lot more about what's going on with it than the average person. However, he's also surrounded by people who, while knowledgeable in the field, don't always take the average person's concerns very seriously. Is there any common ground between the people who drill for gas and oil and the people who protest against its extraction (even as they reap the benefits)? Sernovitz does his level best to take a look at the current energy landscape from multiple perspectives.

Although Sernovitz's arguments are highly biased in favor of markets and the financial bottom line, this book does a great job explaining the science of fracking in easy-to-understand, but not dumbed down, terms. He also doesn't claim to have THE right answer, which is refreshing considering that pundits with books to peddle usually do. He takes pains to give a fair assessment of the famous anti-fracking documentary, Gasland, readily admitting to what it got right as well as rebutting the points it got wrong. The most alarming thing the reader will learn is that markets, which have so much power and influence, are almost completely divorced from what's good for the average person. This isn't exactly a surprise, but it's a little shocking to see it spelled out so plainly: as long as lots of people are making money and most of us live a good life, the oil and gas industry is pretty much succeeding.

Whether or not you buy that, Sernovitz does a good job selling it. Though not entirely convinced, I learned a ton of things I did not know about the production and financials of fossil fuels. Sernovitz is banking on the Star Trek future, where a to-be-determined technology comes along and saves the day, and he's so darned earnest and sincere about it that you want him to be right. Then again, no matter how fair and balanced an author is, it's not like he's going to up and bite the hand that's fed him. This is the kind of book that makes you think critically about the world we live in, and that's the kind of book every single library wants hanging around, particularly in areas where fracking is still very much a part of people's lives (i.e. PA, OH, WV, TX, and CO). Recommended for all non-fiction collections.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read The Green and the Black not because I am pro-fracking, but because I wanted to learn more about it. Frack has become a four-letter word--despite the fact that it's actually five letters--and there is much contention surrounding its environmental impact. I have wind source energy in my house, and I try to do my part to be environmentally responsible, but I do like a hot shower in the morning, and I drive an SUV to work, so part of me feels like a bit of a hypocrite if I say I am against fracking.

What I learned from this book is that, with anything, there are pros and cons. The cons are numerous and include the infamous ground water concerns (the tap water that was flammable in the movie Gasland--the author assures us that fracking takes place at a depth far below any water supply), earthquakes by the hundreds in Oklahoma due to disposal of produced water into bedrock, and of course the environmental impact of furthering our dependence on fossil fuels. With natural gas and oil prices so cheap, who needs to find alternatives?

But there are also pros to fracking, and this is what I was hoping to learn. As a Nation, we have used more natural gas and much less coal than we used to, and we have reduced our carbon emissions greatly. Jobs numbering in the hundreds of thousands have been created. We are not at the mercy of Russia or the middle east for energy. The Keystone Pipeline has been put on hold, and oil sands seem to be the greater of two evils concerning the environment.

I'm still not sure whether the pros outweigh the cons, but at least I now know that there are pros. I do think that the author looks at the issues from both sides--thus the green and the black--and I do recommend this book if you want a balanced explanation of fracking.

[Ashley]

As an environmentalist I felt I needed to educate myself on the alternative point of view of fracking and oil/gas shale development. This book definitely gives that perspective and at times tries to sympathize with the protests to Big Oil, but it's easy to see what side of the debate Sernovitz is on.

Sometimes I was tempted to stop reading because of the audacity of the claims that Sernovitz makes - the bizarre twisting of information to support your claims that both sides in the debate do - "The shale revolution has, nationally speaking, made American water sources safer...." as well as his lack of understanding why New Yorkers would be concerned with fracking and water contamination because "even if statewide and local bans had not been put in place, Ithaca and the Catskills and my pumpernickel bagels were always safe."

[Bill S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An author with one foot on each side of the issue — a self-proclaimed liberal New Yorker who works in the finance end of the oil/fracking business — examines the history and future of ‘Fracking’ from both a global/financial perspective and also a local/environmental viewpoint.

I'm sure zealots on either side will find something (or many things) to dislike, but most should find an evenhanded discussion of this new (well, it's really not so new) and controversial topic.

[Tirath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understand what fracking is really about,
how it affects the industry, the globe, climate
How it's done, how people got lucky or unlucky
Juxtaposed against competitive factors, economics, geopolitics.

Very engaging and fun read - the author is super hilarious

But got a little tedious in parts - book could have been shorter.

Note: Didnt know the beauty of natural gas vs coal, shale gas's effect on coal use, global potential fracking destinations, US's amazing ability to adapt

[Gregg · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is fracking? This book will tell you in a short summary in layman's terms.