Brian C. Black, professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona, is the author or editor of several books, including the award-winning Petrolia: The Landscape of America's First Oil Boom. His articles appear in OnEarth magazine, USA Today, Junior Scholastic, and Christian Science Monitor, as well as scholarly journals. 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. Petroleum, though, makes for the most compelling story of all.