Karin Dubsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Karin Dubsky
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| Born | 1954 (age 70–71) Bonn, Germany
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| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ecology |
| Institutions | Trinity College Dublin |
Karin Dubsky, born in 1954, is a German-Irish scientist who studies the ocean and its creatures. She is known as an environmental activist, meaning she works hard to protect nature. She helped start an organization called Coastwatch Europe, which is a group that looks after our coasts. She is also part of the European Environmental Bureau.
In 2019, Karin Dubsky was a candidate for the Green Party in an election in Wexford, Ireland, but she was not elected.
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Early Life and Education
Karin Dubsky was born in Bonn, Germany. She grew up on a farm near Bannow Bay in County Wexford, Ireland. She went to Newtown School in Waterford.
After school, she studied zoology at Trinity College Dublin. Zoology is the study of animals. Later, she earned a master's degree in Environmental Sciences, which she completed at Trinity College Dublin.
Protecting Our Environment
Karin Dubsky has spent her career teaching people about the environment. She also works on projects to protect important natural areas like wetlands. She helps prevent pollution from waste and oil, and works on keeping our coasts healthy.
Campaigns for Cleaner Water
Karin Dubsky often speaks out about environmental issues in Ireland. She focuses on making sure our water is clean, especially in wetlands, sand dunes, and at beaches where people swim. She pushed for new rules to make sure people knew about the water quality at bathing beaches. Ireland brought in these rules even before some other countries.
Blue Flag Beaches and Clean Air
Karin Dubsky helped create the Blue Flag for Beaches award program. This program gives a special flag to beaches that are clean and safe.
She also helped start the Irish Clean Air Group. This group worked to get smokeless fuel introduced in Ireland. Smokeless fuel burns cleaner and helps reduce air pollution.
Coastwatch Surveys and Plastic Bags
Karin Dubsky set up an international volunteer program called Coastwatch. Volunteers check the coastlines and collect information about them. This program grew to include 23 countries. The information gathered by Coastwatch has been used by important environmental groups like OSPAR and the EEA.
The Coastwatch survey data also helped convince Ireland to introduce a tax on plastic bags. This was the first plastic bag tax in Europe. After the tax, the number of plastic bags found on coastlines dropped a lot, from over 54 bags per kilometer to only about 3 or 4.
Helping with Environmental Decisions
Karin Dubsky has been part of several important groups that help make decisions about the environment in Ireland. She was on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and the Dublin Bay Task Force. She also served on the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board.
Other Important Work
Karin Dubsky has worked to solve specific environmental problems.
She brought attention to problems with raw sewage in the Dublin area. She found official water test results and organized people to report sewage issues. She also pushed for better ways to treat wastewater.
She also helped stop illegal fishing for cockles in the Waterford estuary. She worked with the media and government officials to achieve this.
Karin Dubsky also exposed damage to the Kilmuckridge-Tinnaberna Sandhills. With other Coastwatch members, she stopped cattle from being kept there, which was causing pollution. Now, there is a plan to fix the area.
Court Cases for the Environment
Karin Dubsky has been involved in several court cases to protect the environment. For example, the Supreme Court decided that the government must explain its decisions about environmental projects. She also helped get a court order to stop harmful waste from being dumped in Waterford Port.
She also made complaints to the European Commission, which led to improvements in landfill sites and the protection of wetlands.
Politics
Karin Dubsky was a candidate for the Green Party (Ireland) in the 2019 Wexford by-election. This election was to fill a seat in the European Parliament. However, she was not elected.
Awards and Achievements
- She designed a monument about biodiversity and the expansion of the European Union. It was put up in Malahide Castle in 2004.
- She helped create the first list of wetlands in County Wexford with the Wexford County Council.
Personal Life
As of 2019, Karin Dubsky lives in Ballymoney, County Wexford, with her husband, Paul. They have three sons: Stephan, Paul, and Eoin.
Images for kids
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Karin Dubsky
