Life shapes us.  It has certainly shaped Mark Jenner’s career path.  I was raised to make the world a better place, and what an odyssey of bridge-building and provocation it has been!

This week, I turned in my keys at Greenville University, closing this chapter of culture-shaping jobs I have had.  GU is looking for new faculty energy to carry on the signature BS in agribusiness that we have built together the last 8 years.  I have reached the proverbial fork-in-the-road.  So, I am taking it.

One proxy for changing the world could be the price of crude oil.  I remember buying gasoline for the lawn mower in the 1970’s for 27 cents per gallon.  Not long after, long lines were forming at gas pumps because there wasn’t enough gasoline.  It was my first energy crisis.  The price of gasoline hasn’t been that low since.  The price of crude oil is a starting place from which to reflect on my first 48 years since high school graduation.

Teaching at GU was career #10.  There is an urge to look back at the impact of my life’s work in influencing renewable energy by looking at the price of crude oil (2023 $/barrel).  But beginning with the Energy Crisis in the ’70s the price of crude oil has shaped my career (not the other way).

In 2001 on September 11, the U.S. was attacked by individuals from oil producing nations.  As a result, the ’00s focused on ways to become less dependent of foreign oil.  And prevail, we did.  For a decade from 2003 to 2012, I had a dedicated vocation at creating fuel alternatives from waste organics.  Biomass Rules, LLC launched in 2003, and work at the University of California Biomass Collaborative began in 2009 for three years.

According to the price of crude oil, that decade of brilliant renewable energy work only increased the prices of crude oil. Ha, ha, ha. (That is a joke).  It is also a reminder just how complex the economy and/or any one market are.  It is easy to grab a price series and map it to another variable, and get a relationship.

Part of the next phase has included blogging and renovating www.biomassrules.com.  After nearly half a century, it is fascinating to realize how much the journey has taught me.  Thanks to all who have helped me learn more at each turn, and to all who enjoy reading these ‘fun facts!’