The Frack Track To Energy, Money And Influence?

An energy-independent US could be on the horizon--in large part due to the rise of fracking technology that continues to challenge the global supply of oil and gas. The prospect of this independence could destabilize energy-exporters like Russia and Saudi Arabia, and change how America asserts its global influence. But some analysts are reserving their optimism, with suggestions that returns on shale oil may not be as lucrative as once promised. Are we truly on the path to energy independence, and what would the world look like if we pulled it off? Copies of Bethany McLean’s latest book Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It’s Changing the World will be available for sale and signing after the program from the Book Cellar.

Bethany McLean is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a contributor at CNBC. She was previously an editor-at-large at Fortune. She is an investigative journalist known for her work on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis, and coauthored the bestseller, The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron. A documentary based on the book was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006. McLean also coauthored All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis, and wrote Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the US Mortgage Giants. Prior to joining Fortune in 1995, she was an investment analyst at Goldman Sachs. @bethanymac12

11:45 a.m. Registration and Lunch 12:00 p.m. Presentation and Discussion 1:15 p.m. Adjournment and Book Signing   Ticket price: $65   This program is exclusively for members of the Council's Board of Directors; Founders' Circle, Chairman’s Circle, Ambassador’s Circle, Directors’ Circle, President’s Club members; and Corporate Principals and Senior Leaders of Corporate member companies. Learn more and register online at thechicagocouncil.org. Join the conversation @ChicagoCouncil