A judge advocate was awarded the Jamie Grodsky Award for Environmental Law Scholarship from The George Washington University Law School March 22 for his original paper on reforming the nation's renewable fuel policy.
Lt. Cmdr. Jonathan Dowling wrote a thesis entitled "Improving Energy Security with the Great Green Fleet, The Case for Transitioning from Ethanol to Drop-In Renewable Fuels."
Dowling is currently assigned to the Environmental Law Division in the Office of the Judge Advocate General. He attended George Washington Law School last year for a master's in environmental and energy law where he graduated with highest honors.
"The paper argues Congress should follow the Navy's lead by phasing out legislative preferences for ethanol and by encouraging the accelerated development of drop-in renewable fuels that match the performance characteristics of petroleum-based fuel," said Dowling.
The Navy has spearheaded multiple environmental initiatives that are critical to improving energy security and environmental stewardship by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
"I am honored by the award, thankful for the guidance from my professors, and hopeful that the market-based ideas in my thesis will make a difference once it is published," said Dowling.
The award commemorates the life of The George Washington University Law School Professor Jamie A. Grodsky, who passed away in May 2010. It recognizes an original paper by a George Washington Law student in the environmental field as judged by a panel.
"Professor Jamie Grodsky dedicated her career to advancing environmental law scholarship so it most appropriate that her family and her colleagues at George Washington Law keep her memory alive through a scholarship competition," said Associate Dean for Environmental Law Studies Lee Paddock. "Lt. Cmdr. Dowling's thoroughly researched paper on the issue of 'drop-in' fuels continues the tradition of outstanding environmental law scholarship begun last year with the first Jamie Grodsky Award."