Rather than spiral down a rabbit hole over the dire state of the environment, O'Rourke set out to find champions of the nation doing their little bit, like actress Yael Stone (one of the star's of Orange is the New Black), Wollongong councillor Mithra Cox and Warrawong's Green Connect farm.

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The writer has written about them - and many other inspiring Aussies - doing their bit for a brighter, healthier future in her new book, Together We Can.

"Seeing people who are relatable and doing great things I'm hoping it will inspire people to do their own really amazing things," she said.

The Climate Compass 2020 report found 24 per cent of Aussie adults surveyed were "alarmed" about climate change, though for the 16-24-year-old bracket it went up to 32 per cent.

Bushfires, flash flooding, destructive East Coast lows are likely to have increased the concern as Illawarra residents listed climate change as their main concern ahead of the federal election earlier in 2022.

"It made me think, 'if they're so worried why aren't we seeing five million Australians taking action all the time on climate," O'Rourke said.

"People get so overwhelmed by it because climate change intersects with every single aspect of our lives or that they don't really know where to start or what will actually make a meaningful difference."

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Once she started looking it wasn't hard to find people to interview rather the difficult part was what to leave out of the book.

Stone is featured not because of her acting days in Orange is the new Black but for ditching her US Green Card and returning to Australia in a commitment to reducing CO2 emissions from flying back and forth.

The Bulli local has also launched a not-for-profit organisation Hi Neighbour, to help businesses with solar uptake and creating jobs.

Warrawong's award-winning farm Green Connect is believed to be one of the largest urban permaculture farms in the world - while also creating jobs for refugees and youth - rightly nabs a spot in the book, as does Councillor Cox for her determination to bring change at a local government level.

O'Rourke didn't want to bog people down with scientific speech or harsh sermons, she wanted to use bite-sized chunks of real stories about real people to offer hope to people who felt "powerless".

"Creating big changes means lots of small action," she said.

"That way everyone can feel like they can make a contribution and can make a meaningful difference."

People didn't need to start big to make a difference but they just needed to start, she said.

O'Rourke comes from a background in social change and advocacy and had never written anything on the scale of a book before, but her idea was quickly snapped up by major publisher Allen and Unwin who were willing to take a risk on the first-time author.

"My publisher believed in the book and the need for it in this moment in time."

Together We Can is available in bookstores and online through Allen & Unwin.

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