HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE BOOKMARK.

I'M CHRISTINE BROWN YOUR HOST TODAY MY GUEST IS LAWRENCE DAFFY AUTHOR OF GEORGE P. MITCHELL FRACKING SUSTAINABILITY AND AN UNORTHODOX QUEST TO SAVE THE PLANET.

LAUREN THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.

THIS BOOK SEEMS LIKE IT'S STRAIGHTFORWARD BIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE MITCHELL BUT GEORGE MITCHELL WAS NOT A STRAIGHTFORWARD MAN.

SO IT ENDS UP BEING LESS STRAIGHTFORWARD IN THAT WAY.

WHAT I FOUND IS THAT EVERYTHING I THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD IN THE BOOK TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED AND MUCH MORE INVOLVED.

AND YET HE WAS DEFINITELY NOT A STRAIGHTFORWARD GUY BY ANY WHICH IS GREAT CAUSE I THINK IT MAKES FOR BETTER READING?

IT'S INTERESTING IT CERTAINLY MADE A LOT MORE FUN TO WRITE AND TO RESEARCH EVERY TIME YOU THOUGHT YOU UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING THERE WAS ANOTHER ANOTHER LITTLE OFFSHOOT THAT YOU HAD TO GO AND LEARN ABOUT SO GREAT.

SO TO START LETS PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW WHO GEORGE MITCHELL IS AND EVEN IF THEY DO THEY MAY ONLY KNOW ONE ASPECT OF HIM.

SO CAN YOU INTRODUCE WHO GEORGE MITCHELL IS JR GEORGE MITCHELL WAS AN OIL MAN IN ENERGY PIONEER IN HOUSTON.

HE HAD A COMPANY CALLED MITCHELL ENERGY AND DEVELOPMENT AND HE'S PROBABLY BEST KNOWN FOR DEVELOPING THE PROCESS THAT WE NOW KNOW IS FRACKING OR HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.

HE DID NOT INVENT IT BUT HE DID HE DID MAKE IT ECONOMICALLY VIABLE AND KIND OF LED TO THE USE WE HAVE TODAY FOR IT.

BUT HE WAS ALSO A PIONEER OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND HE DEVELOPED THE WOODLANDS NORTH OF HOUSTON AND A LOT THE IDEAS THAT HE DEVELOPED IN THAT PROJECT HAVE BEEN COPIED IN SUBURBS AND MASTERPLAN COMMUNITIES REALLY ALL OVER THE WORLD.

SO HOW DID YOU COME TO THIS PROJECT?

HOW DID YOU GET TO BE A BIOGRAPHER?

NO IT'S INTERESTING.

AS A BUSINESS WRITER YOU ALWAYS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT RELEVANCE.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS I NOTICED WITH A LOT OF BUSINESS BOOKS EVEN THE MAJOR ONES LIKE BARBARIANS AT THE GATE OR RELOAD POKER WHEN YOU GO BACK AND READ THEM NOW THAT KIND OF DEALS A SPECIFIC POINT IN TIME AND A LOT OF WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IS NO LONGER RELEVANT.

YOU KNOW BUSINESS TENDS TO MOVE FAST IT TENDS TO LOOK FORWARD AND SO I THOUGHT WELL MAYBE A BIOGRAPHY WOULD BE A WAY TO GET AROUND THAT PROBLEM.

AND IF I'M GONNA DO A BIOGRAPHY I WANT TO DO SOMEBODY IN TEXAS FIRST BUT I ALSO WANT TO DO SOMETHING THAT I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT SOMEBODY THAT AFFECTED PEOPLE'S LIVES IN A VERY REAL WAY BEYOND THE REALM OF BUSINESS.

I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT YOU KNOW SOMEBODY THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON EVERYDAY LIVES OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE I REALLY AND THAT TURNS OUT TO BE A PRETTY SHORT LIST.

BUT GEORGE MITCHELL THROUGH WHAT HE DID WITH FRACKING AND THE IMPACT IT'S HAD ON ENERGY MARKETS AND YOU KNOW ENERGY PRICES REALLY YOU KNOW CHANGED THE WORLD IN A LOT OF WAYS IN FACT NO LESS THAN STEVEN HAWKING ACTUALLY SAID YOU KNOW THERE ARE VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO CAN SAY THEY ACTUALLY CHANGED THE WORLD BUT GEORGE MITCHELL WAS ONE OF THEM?

AND SO THAT REALLY KIND OF FIT THE BILL.

AND I WAS ALSO VERY FORTUNATE THAT THE MITCHELL FAMILY WAS WILLING TO COOPERATE WITH ME.

THEY GAVE ME ACCESS ALL HIS PAPERS AND THEY WERE ALSO VERY GOOD ABOUT NOT EXERCISING EDITORIAL CONTROL OVER THE PROCESS.

SO REALLY I COULDN'T COULD HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER A BETTER SETUP FOR DOING THE BOOK DID YOU KNOW HIM PERSONALLY YOU EVER MEET HIM.

I MET HIM A FEW TIMES YOU KNOW I WAS A BUSINESS COLUMNIST FOR THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE AND HIS OFFICE WAS ACTUALLY RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.

AND SO THERE WERE A FEW TIMES WHEN I MET HIM AND THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM ACTUALLY I GOT A CALL FROM HIS PUBLICIST AND SHE SAID OH GEORGE MITCHELL WANTS TO TALK TO YOU.

HE WASN'T HAPPY WITH SOMETHING HE WROTE AND I TO THIS DAY I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS BECAUSE WHEN I WENT OVER TO MEET HIM HE WAS SO NICE AND SO GRACIOUS AND HE GAVE ME A BOOK ON FRACKING AND WE JUST HAD A WONDERFUL CONVERSATION AND HE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE UPSET ABOUT ANYTHING.

SO SO BUT THAT WAS ALSO I LEARNED LATER WHEN I WAS WORKING ON THE BOOK THAT WAS VERY CHARACTERISTIC OF HOW HE WAS HE HE WAS NOT CONFRONTATIONAL IF HE THOUGHT THAT THAT SOMEBODY HAD GOTTEN SOMETHING WRONG RATHER THAN TRYING TO GET THEM TO ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE OR WHATEVER HE WOULD SIMPLY GIVE THEM INFORMATION AND LET THEM COME TO THEIR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

SO WHATEVER I DID RIGHT OR WRONG THE BOOK THAT HE GAVE ME ACTUALLY PROVED TO BE VERY HELPFUL IN RESEARCHING THIS BOOK.

SO WHAT IS A LOT ABOUT HIS BUSINESS IN FRACKING AND ALL THAT.

BUT I DO WANT TO BRIEFLY TOUCH ON ON HIS ORIGINS BECAUSE I THINK WHERE HE GREW UP AND WHERE HE CAME FROM ENDED UP HAVING A REALLY BIG EFFECT ON SOME THINGS HE DID LATER IN LIFE.

SO CAN YOU TELL US WHERE HE CAME FROM?

YEAH?

HIS BEGINNINGS WERE REALLY VERY VERY HUMBLE.

HIS FATHER WAS A WHO HAD BEEN A GOAT HERDER GOAT HERDING FAMILY IN THE MOUNTAINS OF GREECE CAME TO AMERICA WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD AND HE WENT TO WORK FOR THE RAILROADS AND HIS NAME WAS SARGE PARIS GIVE US SO VERY VERY GREEK NAME.

AND WHEN HE WENT TO GET HIS FIRST PAYCHECK THE MASTER SAID YOU KNOW I CAN'T PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME I CAN'T SPELL YOUR NAME.

AND IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIM WITH A FIRE YOU.

AND FROM HEAR THE STORY THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT VERSIONS BUT BUT THE VERSION THAT I LIKE THE BEST IS THAT HE ASKED THE PAYMASTER WHAT'S YOUR NAME AND THE GUY SAID MIKE MITCHELL.

AND HE SAID OH THAT'S MY NAME TOO.

WHAT A COINCIDENCE.

AND I THINK THAT YOU KNOW THE REASON I LOVE THE STORY IS BECAUSE MIKE MITCHELL THE LATER MIKE MITCHELL YOU KNOW HE REALLY DID KIND OF SURVIVE ON HIS WITS AND HE REALLY DID LEARN TO THINK VERY FAST AND ON ITS FEET AND AND HE WAS VERY GOOD WITH PEOPLE I THINK THAT THAT YOU KNOW THAT STORY KIND OF SUMS UP HIS SURVIVAL SKILLS REALLY IN A LOT OF WAYS.

BUT HE EVENTUALLY MOVED TO GALVESTON GOT MARRIED AND STARTED RAISING FAMILY THEY HAD FOUR CHILDREN.

AND GEORGE WAS THE THIRD AND HIS MOTHER DIED WHEN HE WAS ABOUT TWELVE YEARS OLD WHICH VERY TRAUMATIC EFFECT ON THE FAMILY.

MIKE MITCHELL HIS FATHER YOU KNOW ALWAYS MANAGED TO KIND OF JUST SCRAPE BY JUST KEEP ENOUGH MONEY ON HAND TO GET BY.

AND SO THE FAMILY HAD A LOT OF HARDSHIP A LOT OF STRUGGLES.

AND GEORGE WAS VERY SHY AND SO HE REALLY KIND OF KEPT TO HIMSELF.

HE HE READ A LOT OF BOOKS.

SUPPOSEDLY HE READ EVERY BOOK IN THE GALVESTON LIBRARY.

THE TIME WAS 14.

HE TAUGHT HIMSELF TO PLAY TENNIS FIGHT BY HITTING A BALL AGAINST AGAINST THE WALL AGAINST THE BACKBOARD BUT YOU KNOW HE WENT ON TO BE ONE OF THE BEST TENNIS PLAYERS OF SAY THE TIME WITH THIS AMATEUR TENNIS PLAYERS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

SO YOU KNOW HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING IN A SMALL WAY EVEN AS A CHILD.

HE REALLY WHEN THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT INTERESTED IT AND HE REALLY SORT OF PLUNGED INTO IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY HE ACTUALLY GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL WHEN HE WAS 16 AND HE HE GOT ACCEPTED TO RICE.

HIS MOTHER WANTED HIM TO BE A DOCTOR SHE WANTED TO GO TO RICE AND BECOME A DOCTOR AND HE GOT ACCEPTED TO RICE BUT THEY SAID SINCE HE WAS 16 HE WAS TOO YOUNG AND HE'D HAVE TO WAIT THEY REALLY CARE WHAT HE DID THEY JUST WANTED TO MATURE A LITTLE BIT I GUESS.

AND SO DURING THAT TIME HE ACTUALLY WENT TO WORK FOR HIS BROTHER JOHNNY WHO HAD ALREADY WAS ALREADY WORKING IN THE OIL FIELDS AND JUST FELL IN LOVE WITH THE OIL BUSINESS AND DECIDED THAT MAYBE HE'D RATHER DO THAT INSTEAD.

SO THAT WAS KIND OF HOW HE GOT STARTED THEN HE CAME HERE TO TALK ABOUT HIM AND THAT'S LIKE ABOUT COMING DAY AND AM ABSOLUTELY CAME TO THEM AND HE REALLY STRUGGLED.

HE WAS CONSTANTLY BEING THREATENED WITH EXPULSION BECAUSE HE DID HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR COLLEGE AND HE TRIED ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS HE BUILT BOOKSHELVES.

HE SOLD CANDY.

THAT WAS THE YEAR ONE OF THE YEARS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AND THOSE AS HE SAID THOSE BIG BRUTES WOULD STEAL HIS CANDY AND NOT PAY FOR IT.

SO THAT WASN'T WORKING OUT TOO WELL.

HE TRIED A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS THAT HE FINALLY HIT ON AN IDEA HE BOUGHT GOLDEN BOSS STATIONERY AND HE WOULD SELL IT TO THE FRESHMEN BECAUSE THEY WOULD WANT TO THEIR GIRLFRIENDS BACK HOME.

THEY WERE VERY LOVESICK AND AND HE SAID THEY'D PAY ANY PRICE FOR GOOD GOOD PIECE OF STATIONERY AND HE YOU KNOW HE PUT THE SYMBOL FOR THEIR COMPANY ON IT AND WHATNOT AND HE ACTUALLY WOUND UP MAKING PRETTY GOOD MONEY DOING THAT SO THAT KIND OF ENDED HIS HIS FINANCIAL TROUBLES KIND OF THE HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL ACT.

EXACTLY YEAH.

NOW HE'S BACK HAD HIS FIRST JOB WORKING IN THE OIL BUSINESS.

HE ACTUALLY MADE LESS MONEY THAN HE DID SELLING STATIONERY.

SO HOW DID AGGIE GRADUATES HOW DID HE GET INTO THE OIL BUSINESS?

WELL HIS HIS BROTHER JOHNNY HAD ALREADY BEEN HAD GONE THROUGH A AN AM WAS ALREADY OUT NEW OLD AND WAS TRYING TO MAKE A LIVING AND JOHNNY HAD HAD TERRIBLE LUCK AS WILDCAT HE WOULD JUST DRILL ONE DRY HOLE AFTER ANOTHER BUT IT KIND OF GAVE GEORGE ENOUGH OF A BACKGROUND THAT HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING AND THEN HE HAD AN OFFER FROM FROM A FROM AMOCO IN LOUISIANA.

BUT THE BOSS WAS A GUY NAMED WILLIE RED.

AND I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW HIS NAME.

OTHER THAN THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY I EVER FOUND IT ANY OF THE RECORDS.

BUT HE WAS APPARENTLY A VERY DEMANDING BOSS BECAUSE HE TOLD GEORGE IF YOU WANT A JOB YOU GOT TO BE HERE.

YOU KNOW BASICALLY LIKE RIGHT AWAY.

AND SO HE HAD TO MISS GRADUATION TOO TO GET OVER TO THE OIL FIELDS AND START WORKING AND IT WAS A MISERABLE EXPERIENCE FOR HIM.

HE WENT AND YOU KNOW HE WENT HE WORKED THERE THROUGH THE WINTER HE WAS OUT ON THE RIGS AT A VERY COLD WINTER.

HE HATED IT BUT ONCE HE STARTED TO MOVE INTO AN AREA WHERE HE WAS ACTUALLY DOING ENGINEERING WORK AND STUFF THEN HE STARTED TO REALLY LIKE IT.

AND THAT'S WHERE HIS HIS NATURAL ABILITIES STARTED TO TAKE OFF.

HE HAD A REALLY INNATE TALENT FOR SPOTTING OIL AND GAS DEPOSITS AND NOBODY ELSE SAW.

HOW DID YOU MAKE A DECISION THEN TO LEAVE THE COMPANY AND KIND OF HEAD OUT ON HIS OWN SO WHEN HE WAS WHEN HE WAS HERE IN AM HE ACTUALLY HAD A PROFESSOR WHO SAID YOU KNOW IF YOU WANT TO DO WELL YOU KNOW GET A JOB WITH A BIG COMPANY LIKE EXXON AND YOU'LL DRIVE A NICE CHEVROLET.

BUT IF YOU WANT TO DRIVE A CADILLAC YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO START YOUR OWN COMPANY AND HE NEVER FORGOT THAT.

AND SO HE HE HE ACTUALLY WAS WAS DRAFTED HE WAS IN THE RESERVES COMING OUT OF BAND AM AND SO HE WAS CALLED UP FOR DUTY IN AND AFTER THE WAR HE STARTED THINKING ABOUT WHAT HE SHOULD DO AND HE HAD A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO DO SOME CONSULTING WORK.

AND SO HE STARTED DOING THAT AND HE REALIZED YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT I'M GOING TO DO I'M GOING TO.

IF HE IF HE'D GONE BACK TO THE CORPORATE WORLD HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BEHIND THOSE WHO DIDN'T GO TO WAR AND HE FELT LIKE HE WAS LOSING LOSING GROUND AND HE'D WANT TO DO THAT.

SO HE DECIDED TO STRIKE OUT ON HIS OWN AND HE ACTUALLY WOUND FORMING A COMPANY WITH HIS BROTHER JOHNNY AND WENT TO JOHNNY'S CHILDHOOD FRIENDS IN MARYLAND KRISTIE.

AND THE COMPANY WAS CALLED KRISTY MITCHELL.

MITCHELL INITIALLY.

AND THAT WAS KIND OF HOW THEY GOT THEIR START NOW IN THE BOOK.

YOU DO A GOOD JOB OF DESCRIBING I THINK ARE DISPELLING WHAT PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE OIL BUSINESS MIGHT THINK OF WHAT HITTING IT BIG MIGHT.

YOU KNOW WE HAD THIS IMAGE IN OUR HEAD OF OIL GUSHING OUT OF THE GROUND AND IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK LIKE THAT.

YOU CAN GET A BIG HIT THAT DOESN'T LOOK AS DRAMATIC.

YEAH YOU REALLY ACTUALLY DON'T WANT THE OIL TO CUT FISHER SPILL EVERYWHERE EVERYTHING OF COURSE IS VALUABLE.

YEAH IT WAS YOU KNOW THOSE EARLY DAYS ESPECIALLY WERE A REAL STRUGGLE.

I MEAN IT WAS REALLY A SHOESTRING OPERATION AND THEY WOULD THEY WOULD KIND OF YOU KNOW FIGURE OUT A PLACE WHERE THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD DRILL ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GEORGE WOULD DO WHEN YOU'RE WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO DECIDE ON AN AREA TO DRILL IN.

YOU LOOK AT THE AT THE WHAT THEY CALL WELL LOGS RIGHT YOU LOOK AT WELLS THAT HAVE BEEN DRILLED IN THE AREA AND YOU LOOK AT THESE BASICALLY READOUTS THEY SHOOT A TOOL DOWN INTO THE WELLBORE AND IT KIND OF GIVES YOU ALMOST LIKE AN ELECTROCARDIOGRAM YOU KNOW IT'S A VERY SQUIGGLY LINE BUT IF YOU'RE A GEOLOGIST YOU KNOW HOW TO READ THIS.

AND LOOKS LIKE AM WHERE THE POTENTIAL DEPOSITS ARE.

THE PROBLEM IS THAT THOSE WERE REALLY EXPENSIVE.

AND GEORGE AND JOHNNY DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT TO BUY THEM.

SO GEORGE CUT A DEAL HE GOT TO KNOW THE GUY THAT SOLD THESE THESE WELL LOGS AND HE WOULD LET GEORGE BORROW THEM AT NIGHT YOU KNOW BASICALLY OVERNIGHT AND SO GEORGE WOULD GO HOME AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING WHATEVER HE'D BE UP LOOKING AT THESE THINGS FOR FREE AND THEN YOU TAKE THEM BACK IN THE NEXT MORNING RIGHT.

RIGHT AS THE PLACE OPENED AND THAT ENOUGH MONEY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SOME PROSPECTS AND GET SOME THINGS GOING AND GET A FEW INVESTORS TO PUT MONEY IN.

BUT YOU KNOW ONCE ONCE A WELL CAME THEY WOULD HAVE TO YOU KNOW TAKE THE PROCEEDS RUSHED TO THE BANK AND THEN TRY TO YOU KNOW WAS THIS CONSTANT METHOD OF TRYING TO KEEP THINGS GOING AND YOU GOT TO BE A REAL STRUGGLE THERE.

THEY DID NOT ACTUALLY TAKE AS MUCH OF A PERCENTAGE OF THE DEALS AS OIL COMPANIES TYPICALLY DID.

EVEN SMALL TIME PRODUCERS DID BECAUSE THEY THEY YOU KNOW THEY WERE JUST TRYING BY NOW.

HOW I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GONNA KNOW THE NAME CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL BUT SHE WAS MORE THAN JUST HIS WIFE.

TELL US ABOUT HER AND TELL US ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE IN HIS FAMILY YEAH.

SO CYNTHIA WAS WAS REALLY A FASCINATING CHARACTER A BOOK ACTUALLY.

SHE HAD SHE WAS BORN IN NEW YORK AND SHE WAS ABOUT 7 YEARS OLD.

HER MOTHER CAME TO HER AND HER TWIN SISTER PAMELA AND SAID I HAVE SOME REALLY BAD NEWS YOUR FATHER HAS DIED AND WE'RE WE'RE MOVING AND HER CHILD HAD ONE TERRIBLY HAPPY YOU KNOW THE PARENTS.

THERE WAS A LOT OF STRIFE BETWEEN THE PARENTS APPARENTLY SO THEY MOVED OUT TO ILLINOIS AND SHE WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL THERE AND RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME SHE WAS ABOUT TO GRADUATE.

HER MOTHER TOLD HER OH WE'RE MOVING BACK TO NEW YORK.

AND SHE TOLD EVERYBODY ALL HER FRIENDS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LEAVE AND GO BACK TO NEW YORK.

WELL WE GOT ON THE TRAIN AND ACTUALLY WENT TO COME TO HOUSTON AND IT TURNED OUT MUCH LATER THAT THAT HER FATHER WAS IN FACT NOT DEAD THAT HE HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIND THEM AND HER MOTHER KEPT MOVING THEM AROUND.

AND CYNTHIA DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THAT UNTIL AFTER BOTH HER PARENTS WERE GONE.

SHE FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT SO IT'S REALLY KIND OF A SAD STORY IN A WAY.

BUT BUT BY COMING TO HOUSTON SHE THEN WENT TO UNIVERSITY HOUSTON AND SHE SHE GOT VERY PLUGGED INTO THE ART SCENE AND THAT CULTIVATED A LOT OF THE CREATIVITY THAT SHE HAD SORT OF NATURALLY HAD AND SHE FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE SHE WAS VERY FASCINATED BY THE ARTS AND ESPECIALLY PERFORMING ARTS.

AND YOU KNOW SHE WAS VERY ACTIVE IN THAT COMMUNITY SHE WAS ON A TRAIN ONE DAY WITH HER TWIN SISTER AND THEY WERE COMING BACK FROM THE FROM THE A.M.

GAME AND ACTUALLY COMING AND SHE HAD BEEN ON A BLIND DATE AND IT WAS WORKING OUT VERY WELL.

AND THE DATE KIND OF DISAPPEARED AND GEORGE MITCHELL WAS IN HIS UNIFORM AND HE KIND OF WALKED OVER AND STARTED CHATTING THEM UP AND ACTUALLY GOT BOTH OF THEIR NUMBERS.

BOTH OF THE SISTERS HE DATED BOTH OF THEM ON AND OFF FOR A WHILE.

SO IT WAS KIND OF CRAZY YOU COULDN'T TELL APART BUT.

BUT CYNTHIA SEEMED TO THE YOU KNOW THEY HIT IT OFF A LITTLE BIT MORE AND SO THEY ACTUALLY GOT MARRIED BEFORE HE GOT OUT OF THE MILITARY YOU KNOW KIND OF IN THE FINAL YEAR OR SO THAT HE WAS IN THE SERVICE THEY GOT MARRIED IN LOUISIANA JOINT WEDDING HER SISTER HER TWIN SISTER GOT MARRIED AT THE SAME TIME THEY WENT ON TO YOU KNOW MOVE TO DIFFERENT PLACES IN HOUSTON BUT THEY HAD THEY HAD 10 CHILDREN WHICH WAS KIND OF INTERESTING BECAUSE LATER HE WOULD WORRY ABOUT OVERPOPULATION SO BUT YES SHE WAS VERY MUCH A PART OF HIS LIFE VERY ACTIVE IN THE WORK THEY DID IN GALVESTON YOU KNOW VERY ACTIVE IN ANYTHING THEY DID REGARDING THE ARTS SHE SHE GENERALLY WEIGHED IN AND HE VALUED HER OPINION HE HAD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HER.

SO TO GET BACK TO HIS BUSINESS A LITTLE BIT WHAT WAS HE LIKE AS A MANAGER HOW DID HOW DID HE HOW DID HE MAKE HIS COMPANY SUCCESSFUL YOU KNOW IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING COMBINATION BECAUSE MOST OF THE EMPLOYEES TALKED ABOUT HOW ACCESSIBLE HE WAS HOW YOU KNOW YOU COULD JUST GO UP TO HIM YOU COULD ASK HIM ANYTHING HE HAD AN INCREDIBLE MEMORY AND IF YOU CAME TO HIM AND TALKED HIM ABOUT A PROJECT HE MIGHT SAY OK WELL THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.

AND THEN A MONTH LATER YOU KNOW HE WOULD SEE YOU AND HE'D SAY SO HOW DID THAT WORK OUT.

I MEAN HE WOULD REMEMBER ALL THE DETAILS EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE 20 OTHER THINGS THAT HE WAS FOCUSED ON OR WHATEVER.

SO MOSTLY EMPLOYEES REALLY LIKE WORKING FOR HIM.

HE YOU KNOW HE REALLY WAS PRETTY SOFT SPOKEN IN A LOT OF WAYS AS A BOSS UNLESS YOU WERE KIND OF IN THE INNER CIRCLE.

AND THEN THOSE GUYS WERE KIND OF THE TOP GUYS THE COMPANY ALL JUST SORT OF YELLED AT EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME THEY JUST WERE YOU KNOW TRYING TO ASSERT THEIR OPINIONS ONE OVER THE OTHER.

SO IT WAS REALLY KIND OF THIS WEIRD CULTURE WHERE YOU KNOW ON THE ONE HAND YOU HAD THIS KIND OF CRAZY YOU KNOW CHAOTIC YOU KNOW SHOUTING CULTURE YOU KNOW MANAGEMENT FIGHT BY YELL OUT AS ONE EMPLOYEE DESCRIBED IT BUT THAT'S NOT HOW HE TREATED THE RANK AND FILE EMPLOYEES.

AND SO THE ONLY THING THAT THAT EVERYBODY OF THE COMPANY REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR POSITION WAS AND REMEMBER WAS THAT EVERY DAY AT THREE THIRTY HE WAS LEAVING TO PLAY TENNIS.

AND IT DIDN'T MATTER.

I MEAN I HAVE A STORY IN THE BOOK ABOUT HOW ONE GUY WENT UP TO HIM AND BASICALLY SAID HE WAS GOING TO QUIT.

AND GEORGE WAS LIKE OKAY WELL I'M PLAYING TENNIS NOW WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT TOMORROW AND THAT WAS A LIFELONG LOVE AFFAIR AND YOU KNOW I WAS PLAYING TENNIS.

THAT'S SUCH AN INTERESTING HE PLAYED TENNIS FROM THE TIME HE WAS 12 YEARS OLD UP UNTIL HE LITERALLY COULD NOT STAND UP ANYMORE YOU KNOW.

SO IT WAS PROBABLY ALMOST INTO HIS 80S.

YOU KNOW HE WAS JUST A HUGE HUGE TENNIS FAN AND HELPED FOUND A HOUSTON RACQUET CLUB AND WHICH ACTUALLY YOU KNOW I TALKED ABOUT HOW THESE STORIES JUST KIND OF GO OFF IN ALL THESE DIRECTIONS.

THAT WAS ONE I DIDN'T REALLY SEE TENNIS AS BEING A HUGE PART OF THE BOOK.

I MEAN IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING HE ENJOYED DOING.

AND THEN I GOT INTO THE RACQUET CLUB AND THE FACT THAT THAT BECAME KIND OF THE LAUNCHING POINT FOR WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL TENNIS THE VIRGINIA SLIMS TOURNAMENT WAS ACTUALLY BORN THROUGH A GROUP OF WOMEN TENNIS PLAYERS SITTING AROUND AT THE HOUSTON RACQUET CLUB AND DECIDING TO FORM THIS LEAGUE AND ULTIMATELY THAT LED TO THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES AT THE ASTRODOME WITH BOBBY RIGGS AND BILLIE JEAN KING AND YOU KNOW ALL THIS STUFF KIND GETS PULLED INTO HIS ORBIT.

AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE HE BASICALLY PROVIDED A VENUE THAT WELCOMED WOMEN'S WOMEN TENNIS PLAYERS AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF PLACES DIDN'T GET THE BIG WORD IS FRACKING AND HE'S BEEN CALLED THE FATHER OF FRACKING WHICH AS YOU MENTIONED ISN'T QUITE TRUE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T INVENT IT.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS IT AND HOW DID HE HOW DID HE MAKE IT WHAT IT IS.

SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS THE BIG FIND FOR MITCHELL ENERGY WAS WAS WESTERN FORT WORTH IN WISE COUNTY.

THEY FOUND A HUGE GAS FIELD THAT THAT NOBODY THOUGHT WAS THERE.

AND THIS WAS BACK IN THE 50S AND ONE OF THE REASONS IT BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL WAS THAT GEORGE MITCHELL NEGOTIATED A LONG TERM CONTRACT TO SUPPLY GAS TO THE CITY OF CHICAGO TO THE UTILITY FOR THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

AND IT WAS AN ABOVE MARKET CONTRACT BECAUSE THE COMPANY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE GAS TO KEEP PEOPLE WARM IN CHICAGO.

AND SO THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY MORE THAN THE GOING RATE RIGHT.

SO IT WAS A REALLY REALLY GREAT DEAL FOR MITCHELL ENERGY AND OVER TIME OVER ABOUT 30 YEARS THEY BEGAN LOOKING AT THIS AND REALIZING OUR WELLS ARE GOING TO DEPLETE WE'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF GAS AND WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING THE PROBLEM WAS THEY HAD BUILT ALL THIS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THAT AREA.

AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THEY WERE LOOKING AT DOING IS IS THERE A WAY WE CAN FIND GAS CLOSE TO WHERE WE ARE.

WELL IF YOU'RE A GEOLOGIST YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS IS SHALE UNDERNEATH YOU KNOW THE LIMESTONE NOT IT'S WHAT'S CALLED SOURCE ROCK SHALES VERY VERY DENSE AND SO OIL AND GAS KIND OF FORMS THERE BUT IT MOVES FROM THOSE HARDER ROCKS TO SOFTER ROCK LIKE WELL INTO RESERVOIRS AND THAT'S TYPICALLY WHERE YOU FIND OIL AND GAS SO THEY DRILLED INTO THE SHALE WHAT'S NOW WELL WE NOW THE BARNETT SHALE IN NORTH TEXAS.

AND THEY FOUND IT WAS A LOT OF GAS BUT THE PROBLEM IS WELL HOW DO YOU GET IT OUT COMMERCIALLY AND SO THEY TRIED ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS AND ONE OF THE METHODS THEY TRIED WAS THIS PROCESS CALLED HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OR FRACKING.

FRACKING WHERE YOU BASICALLY DRILL INTO THE SHALE AND THEN YOU USE PRESSURE TO SHOOT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT SAND BUT THEN ALSO GELS AND WHATNOT TO SUSPEND A STAND AND WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO IS CRACK THE ROCK AND HOPE THAT THE SAND WILL PROP THESE TINY LITTLE FRACTURES OPEN AND THE GAS WILL COME FLOWING OUT.

RIGHT.

WELL THEY KEEP TRYING AND IT DIDN'T WORK AND IT DIDN'T WORK.

AND WHAT WORKS IN ONE FORMATION DOESN'T NECESSARILY WORK IN ANOTHER THE GEOGRAPHY THE GEOLOGY IS VERY COMPLEX AND SO THEY JUST KEPT TRYING DIFFERENT THINGS FOR 17 YEARS AND THEY FINALLY FOUND THAT WATER WHICH WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO WORK AS A FLUID FOR SUSPENDING THE SAND ACTUALLY WORKED WELL IF YOU DID IT THE RIGHT WAY AND THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TRIAL AND ERROR BUT AN LEON 1998 THEY FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING WHERE AND AGAIN NOTHING CAME SHOOTING OUT THERE WAS NO AHA MOMENT.

THEY TESTED IF THEY FRAC THE WELLS AND THEN THEY TESTED THEM OVER A PERIOD OF A YEAR OR SO AND THEY FOUND YEAH WE'RE GETTING WE'RE GETTING PRETTY GOOD QUANTITIES OF GAS OUT OF THIS AND IT REDUCED THE COST OF THAT PROCESS ENOUGH THAT THEY COULD ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY AT IT.

SO THAT'S MAYBE THE BIGGEST THING HE'S KNOWN FOR BUT HE'S ALSO DONE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT ESPECIALLY TEXANS AM ESPECIALLY TEXANS IN THIS AREA WOULD BE AWARE OF.

AND THE NEXT BIGGEST ONE IN THE WOODLANDS.

YEAH.

TELL US HOW HE HOW HE MADE THAT COMMUNITY WELL FOR THE WOODLANDS KIND OF GREW OUT OF THE IDEA WAS THAT HE HAD MADE SOME MONEY IN OIL AND GAS AND HE ACTUALLY HAD AN INVESTOR WHO SAID YOU KNOW YOU CAN MAKE ONE FORTUNE UNDER THE GROUND YOU CAN MAKE ANOTHER FORTUNE ON THE GROUND MEANING YOU KNOW BUY REAL ESTATE ESSENTIALLY.

HE TOOK THAT A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH AAAAA BECAUSE HE BOUGHT REAL ESTATE IN THE SAME PLACE IT WAS KIND DRILLING FOR OIL AND GAS.

SAME BASIC REGION WHICH NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST IDEA BUT HE WAS ABLE TO BUY UP A LOT OF PROPERTY NORTH OF HOUSTON A LOT OF TIMBERLAND.

AND AT THAT POINT IT WAS KIND OF LIKE WELL NOW YOU THIS LAND WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT.

AND ABOUT THIS TIME HE WAS GETTING VERY INVOLVED IN THINGS LIKE THE YOUNG PRESIDENTS ORGANIZATION AND OTHER OTHER GROUPS THAT WERE KIND OF DESIGNED TO TAKE YOUNG EXECUTIVES AND BASICALLY TEACH THEM ABOUT THINGS AND SHOW THEM DIFFERENT THINGS WERE GOING ON IN THE WORLD AND ONE OF THE THINGS HE BECAME VERY WORRIED ABOUT WAS SORT OF THE URBAN BLIGHT.

IN THE 60S THEY WENT TO THE WATTS NEIGHBORHOOD OF L.A.

FOR EXAMPLE TO SEE WHERE THE RIOTS HAD HAPPENED AND HE WAS HE WAS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THINGS LIKE WHITE FLIGHT AND THE DECAY OF THE INNER CITY AND HE KIND OF CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE WE WEREN'T DOING SOMETHING RIGHT WITH OUR CITIES.

AND HE DECIDED WELL YOU KNOW MAYBE MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY SOMETHING ELSE AND SO IT CAME OVER THE IDEA OF LETS LET'S BUILD OUR OWN CITY AND LET'S NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES LET'S DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

REALLY HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING AT ALL.

BUT THE GREAT THING ABOUT GEORGE MITCHELL WAS HE WOULD GO OUT AND FIND PEOPLE WHO DID AND HE KIND OF HAD THIS GREAT OVERALL VISION FOR WHAT HE WANTED IT TO BE.

AND THEN HE FOUND THE PEOPLE WHO COULD MAKE IT HAPPEN.

AND SO THEY THEY RECRUITED A LOT FOLKS WHO KNEW ABOUT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WHO HAD DONE ALL KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES TO DEAL WITH FLOODING TO DEAL WITH YOU KNOW WATER RUNOFF AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND SO YOU KNOW YOU CAME UP WITH THIS WHAT IS REALLY TO THIS DAY A VERY UNIQUE COMMUNITY SOMETHING THAT HAS INSPIRED A LOT OF OTHER DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE WORLD IT'S FASCINATING AND I BEGAN TO MOVE ON BUT THIS IS A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE BOOK BECAUSE THE WAY HE BUILT THAT CITY AND THE THINGS HE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT HE DID IT.

WE'RE JUST FASCINATED THE DETAILS ARE GREAT SAID AMAZING.

BUT MOVE ONE MORE ONE MORE STEP ON.

WE CANNOT SIT ON THIS CAMPUS AND TALK ABOUT GEORGE MITCHELL AND NOT TALK ABOUT THE TWO BUILDINGS ON CAMPUS THAT BEAR HIS NAME HOW DID THIS COME TO BE?

YEAH THAT WAS ANOTHER THING THAT WAS SORT OF CREPT UP ON HIM.

HE'D ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN ASTRONOMY AS A CHILD AND WHEN HE WHEN HE FINALLY SOLD HIS OIL COMPANY AND OFFICIALLY BECAME A BILLIONAIRE AND HAD SOME TIME ON HIS HANDS HE HE HAD HE HAD ACTUALLY BEEN INVOLVED WITH A PROFESSOR HERE ON CAPITOL HILL PETER MACINTYRE WHO WAS WORKING ON THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER AND HE GOT VERY INVOLVED IN THAT EARLY EFFORT TO KIND OF KICK OFF THE INITIAL PROJECT ON THAT HE WAS VERY VERY UPSET WHEN WHEN THAT GOT CANCELED?

AND YEARS LATER HE SAW STEVEN HAWKING HAD ALSO EXPRESSED OF OUTRAGE ABOUT THIS AND HE WAS FASCINATED WAS HAWKING AND THROUGH A PROFESSOR HERE AT CNN WE'VE GOT CHRIS POPE WHO HAD ACTUALLY BEEN A STUDENT OF HAWKING'S KIND OF ALL GOT TOGETHER AND THEY GAVE THEM SAW IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT YOU KNOW BASICALLY MITCHELL WANTED HAWKING AND THEY COULD USE HAWKING TO GET MITCHELL TO BECAUSE QUITE FRANKLY THE PETROLEUM ENGINEERING SCHOOL HAD BEEN TRYING FOR YEARS TO GET GEORGE MITCHELL TO DONATE MONEY HE REALLY WASN'T INTERESTED BUT BIG SCIENCE WAS SOMETHING HE FOUND FASCINATING.

AND AS HE SAID LATER HE SAID YOU KNOW THE OIL GUYS WILL ALWAYS GIVE MONEY FOR PETROLEUM ENGINEERING BUT WHO'S GOING TO FUND PHYSICS.

AND SO THAT REALLY KIND OF DREW HIM INTO THIS AND IT JUST WAS ONE OF THESE THINGS THAT JUST KEPT GROWING AND GROWING AND GROWING BECAUSE AT ONE POINT HE HE TOLD ED FRY IN THE PHYSICS DEPARTMENT HE SAID.

HE SAID YOU KNOW DON'T MAKE THIS A SMALL PLANT MAKE IT A BIG PLANT BASICALLY YOU DO THESE THINGS IN A BIG WAY.

AND SO YOU KNOW WHAT STARTED OUT AS AN IDEA TO BUILD THE MITCHELL INSTITUTE THEN GREW TO THE NEW PHYSICS BUILDING AND THE WHOLE BIT AND ULTIMATELY ON TO FUNDING THE MAGELLAN TELESCOPE AND ADAM'S ROLE IN THAT.

AND YOU KNOW WE ASTRONOMY DEPARTMENT WHICH DID NOT HAVE BEFORE.

AND SO IT WAS AN AMAZING STORY AND I LOVED WRITING ABOUT THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN HIM AND ROBERT GATES WHO WAS PRESIDENT AT THE TIME AND GATES HAD THIS ONE QUOTE THAT I JUST LOVED WHERE I ASK HIM I SAID WELL YOU KNOW I'VE HEARD GEORGE MITCHELL'S PRETTY TOUGH NEGOTIATOR HOW TO GO AND HE'S LIKE WELL YEAH YOU KNOW I I HEARD THAT TOO FORTUNATELY I HAD NEGOTIATED WITH THE SOVIETS SO I WAS PREPARED.

AND I JUST I WAS SO IT'S SUCH A WONDERFUL WAY OF LOOKING AT IT.

BUT BUT THEY REALLY THEY BOTH OF THEM REALLY DEVELOPED SUCH GREAT MUTUAL RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AND I THINK YOU KNOW IT'S OBVIOUSLY WORKED OUT WELL FOR THEM.

ABSOLUTELY SO UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE RUNNING SHORT ON TIME.

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT ITS ROLE IN REVITALIZING GALVESTON.

I MEAN THIS IS A MAN WHO DID A LOT OF WONDERFUL THINGS SO JUST IN OUR FINAL TWO MINUTES HERE.

CAN YOU JUST SUM IT UP FOR ME AND TELL ME WHAT THE TAKEAWAY IS FOR THIS BOOK.

YEAH I THINK FOR ME THE TAKEAWAY YOU KNOW WHEN I STARTED LOOKING AT IT WHAT IS THE LEGACY GOING I MEAN OBVIOUSLY FRACKING THE IMPACT IT'S HAD ON THE ENERGY MARKETS.

BUT I THINK MORE NOW WHAT I LEARNED IS YOU KNOW THIS IS A GUY WHO WELCOMED BIG IDEAS AND HE REALLY CHAMPIONED BIG IDEAS AND HE WASN'T AFRAID HE WASN'T AFRAID TO JUST TAKE ON SOME AUDACIOUS PLAN.

YOU KNOW LET'S BUILD A CITY HOW DO WE DO THAT.

I DON'T KNOW BUT WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT YOU KNOW.

AND I THINK THAT THAT THAT'S THE THING THAT I REALLY HAD COME TO ADMIRE ABOUT HIM.

BY THE TIME I FINISHED THE BOOK WAS JUST THAT HE WAS KIND OF FEARLESS AND IN WHAT HE TOOK ON AND THERE WAS THERE WAS ALWAYS ROOM ON HIS PLATE FOR SOMETHING MORE.

AND IT WAS YOU KNOW YOU HEAR PEOPLE TALK ABOUT A LIFELONG LEARNING EXPERIENCE SO THAT KIND OF THING.

BUT FOR HIM IT WAS REALLY AN IMMERSION IN THAT IDEA.

I MEAN HE REALLY HE DID EVERYTHING IN A BIG WAY.

AND IT WAS JUST AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE TO BE ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT IT.

WELL THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS GREAT BOOK.

I JUST I WANNA TALK ABOUT IT FOR AN HOUR BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEN THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE.

AGAIN THE TITLE THE BOOK IS GEORGE P. MITCHELL FRACKING SUSTAINABILITY AND AN UNORTHODOX QUEST TO SAVE THE PLANET BY LAWRENCE DUFFY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

AND I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN