Have you seen the latest findings reported by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)? If not, let me break it down for you: The decisions we make today are critical to ensuring a safe and sustainable world for everyone, both now and in the future. 

Without urgent action to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the new report states global warming will lead to high- to very high risks of severe, widespread, and irreversible global impacts by 2030.

This news may be heartbreaking, but even more than that, it’s a call to action.

It’s a call to people like you who see the world as it is but believe a better world is possible.

Such large and complex problems certainly require transformational thinking, integration, and big movements. But tackling this problem will also require progress on a variety of smaller and manageable elements.

You can join us at the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture in supporting the work of people like Dancing Rabbit member Sharon Bagatell, who are truly affecting positive change for our planet in myriad tangible ways.

In 2008, Sharon came to Dancing Rabbit as a visitor with her partner, Dennis Hoffarth. They decided to make this village their home the following year. Together, the couple brought with them community experience, activism, permaculture knowledge, and Sharon’s background in teaching. All of these skills have been used over the years to guide work-exchangers, conduct outreach for Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage’s nonprofit, and to educate numerous workshop attendees in such diverse topics as natural building, permaculture design, and clean energy.

Sadly, Sharon’s partner Dennis passed away just a couple of years ago, but Sharon has continued to honor him in so many ways, including stepping up her role in environmental activism, one of Dennis’s passions. 

Sharon started the North East Missouri Chapter of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby (NEMO CCL) at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in 2014 and now holds several roles in the volunteer organization. CCL empowers people to lobby for a national, revenue-neutral, carbon fee-and-dividend system (CF&D) that would place a predictable, steadily rising price on carbon, with all collected fees (minus administrative costs) returned to households as a monthly, energy dividend.

Sharon is not only the NEMO chapter leader for CCL, but also the liaison to our local Congressman, co-state coordinator for Missouri, co-chair of the Engaging Youth Action Team, and a consultant for curriculum and educational materials that CCL provides to their volunteers.

Living in community has helped Sharon’s lobbying work with CCL and she says, “There is a beautiful dove-tailing of the very same communication skills that I work on in community that I apply in the political realm on Capitol Hill.” 

These communication skills are critical in building political will for bipartisan climate solutions. As the IPCC clearly states, we need to work together to reverse the effects of climate change. Empathetic listening and bridging ideas between opposing political groups is critical.

Like Sharon and many others, we can be motivated by this new climate reality and work together to secure the future we want. This latest IPCC report is a reminder of what we’re up against and why we at the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture urgently need your support.

Thank you for joining us in the fight for our planet and our future by making your tax deductible donation today.

In community,

Melany Benoit
Development Director
The Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture
at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

p.s. We can make changes to get our planet back on track, but we need to do it NOW. Please make your contribution today.