|
Established in 1999, the Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation (SMKF) focuses on environmentalism and the elimination of nuclear weapons. Steven Kirsch founded Mouse Systems in 1982 and Frame Technology in 1986 before launching Infoseek, an Internet navigation service. He sold that company to Disney in 1999 and then launched a new e-commerce company called Propel.
The Kirsch Foundation defines its vision as follows: "We want a safe and peaceful world, one without the threat of destruction. We want a healthy world, one without disease and without pollution of our air, water and land, and one in which all species have the ability to survive and flourish."
With regard to environmental concerns, SMKF states that it "has made air quality, petroleum reduction, and global warming the center of [its] environmental public policy agenda." It earmarks considerable sums of money for local groups that focus on environmental issues in California -- such as air quality in the San Joaquin Valley and mobile source (automobile) pollution throughout the state. Steven Kirsch proudly declares that both he and his wife are longtime supporters of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
SMKF has supported many environmental programs. But it believes that "the most significant, world-threatening issue of our time is the use of nuclear weapons." Identifying the United States as the chief agent of nuclear peril worldwide, SMKF says: "Despite the Cold War being over for more than a decade and the Soviet Union no longer in existence, the nuclear legacy of that time period still remains. … Much more troubling, the U.S. is actively pursuing strategies, such as new nuclear weapons and a missile defense system, that seriously jeopardize the current international, treaty-based system."
A member organization of the Peace and Security Funders Group, SMKF vehemently "opposes any new development of nuclear weapons, delivery systems, or missile defense systems" by the United States. As for the pursuit of missile defense in particular, SMKF rejects it on grounds that "at this point all proposed systems are unproven," and that the projected costs for such a system raise "serious questions about U.S. budget priorities."
In November 2002, SMKF and the Ploughshares Fund financed and launched a public policy effort called the Arms Control Advocacy Collaborative, or AC2 (AC - Squared), whose aim is to "advance a common nonproliferation and arms control agenda in Washington, DC." In 2004, AC2 concentrated its legislative influence on five areas: (a) "stopping the Bush Administration's planned deployment of a missile defense program"; (b) "halting the development of new nuclear weapons and the possibility of eventual weapons testing"; (c) "reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles"; (d) "protecting against space weaponization"; and (e) "supporting diplomatic efforts to resolve security problems in North Korea, Iran and Iraq."
In May 2004, AC2 members co-signed a letter to key Senators and Representatives urging them to cut funds proposed for the development of new nuclear weapons. SMKF's co-signatories included representatives of the following organizations: Alliance for Nuclear Accountability; the Arms Control Advocacy Collaborative; the Arms Control Association; the British American Information Council; the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; the Council for a Livable World; the Friends Committee on National Legislation; the Federation of American Scientists; Greenpeace International; the Natural Resources Defense Council; the Nuclear Policy Research Institute; Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund; Physicians for Social Responsibility; 20/20 Vision; Taxpayers for Common Sense; the Union of Concerned Scientists; Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation; Women's Action for New Directions; and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
In April 2004, SMKF was among two-dozen organizations that paid tribute to Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) with a special "Pathfinder Award" for his "lifetime of outstanding leadership in the area of arms control and nonproliferation." A strong opponent of missile defense, Markey has usually voted against Defense Department Authorization bills seeking approval for increased military expenditures.
In addition to the foregoing concerns, the Kirsch Foundation has also demonstrated a somewhat bizarre interest in funding initiatives to identify and eliminate threats posed by "Near Earth Objects" hurtling though outer space. Explains the Foundation, "[G]overnments throughout the world should be significantly increasing their funding of research to identify NEOs that have the potential to destroy or significantly damage the Earth." SMKF discontinued funding in this area in December 2004.
Among the recent recipients of Kirsch Foundation grants are: California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund; Californians for Pesticide Reform; Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment: Central California Environmental Justice Network; Central California Environmental Justice Network; Conservation International; Earthjustice; Environmental Defense Fund; Latino Issues Forum; Natural Resources Defense Council; Union of Concerned Scientists; Institute for America's Future; Peace and Security Funders Group; People for the American Way Foundation; Ploughshares Fund; NARAL Pro Choice America Foundation, California Environmental Rights Alliance; California League of Conservation Voters; Environmental Grantmakers Association; Environmental Law Institute; Arms Control Association; Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; Federation of American Scientists; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Physicians for Social Responsibility; United Nations Foundation; Women's Action for New Directions; Conservation International Center for Responsive Politics; TomPaine.com; Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation; American Civil Liberties Union; Foundation of Florida; and MoveOn.org.
|
