71% of all carbon emissions are caused by just 100 companies.

In light of statistics like these, do our small actions really matter? Will cutting meat from our diet, biking to work instead of driving, or growing our own food in the backyard actually have much of an impact on the state of the planet? If our actions are quite small in comparison to these much bigger actors, is there any benefit in doing them? Why not just focus on the large systemic changes needed to change our current situation?

To answer these questions, we talk to Christian writer and activist Shane Claiborne. Shane is the founder of The Simple Way and the author of numerous books including The Irresistible Revolution, Follow Me To Freedom, and Beating Guns. We also talk to Nick Laparra, who you may know from the podcast Let's Give A Damn. We talk to Tui, a farmer in Thailand, about what small actions look like for refugee farmers around Chiang Mai, and we hear from Richard Lee at IJM about what day-to-day work with small actions look like.

Welcome to the Grassroots Podcast, a Plant With Purpose production. This show features global conversations about the environmental challenges we’re facing and what ordinary people are doing to in response.  We’re going beyond doom-and-gloom. We’re looking at root causes, talking to people on the frontlines, and asking ourselves what we can do. There are reasons to be concerned, but there is also a case for hope.