Brian Black

Who is Brian Black?

Brian Black is an U.S. professor of history and environmental studies at Pennsylvania State University, Altoona Pennsylvania. Dr. Black received his BA in English in 1988 from Gettysburg College, an MA in American Civilization in 1991 from New York University and his Ed.D in American Studies from the University of Kansas in 1996.

Brian Black writes and speaks widely for public and academic audiences about the intersection of issues of the environment and history. His primary focus is energy, past and present, and particularly petroleum. Emphasizing cultural drivers behind energy consumption, Black uses history to provide context for our current energy conundrum. A specialist in the environmental history of North America, Black specifically studies humans’ changing ideas of energy. Residing in the energy landscape of Central Pennsylvania, Black has seen the ridge and valley section gutted for coal, capped with wind turbines, and now fracked for natural gas.