John Francis (environmentalist)
Vow of silence (1973-1990) United Nations Environmental Program Goodwill ambassador (1991) John H. Francis III (born 1946) is an American environmentalist nicknamed The Planetwalker.
Born in Philadelphia, the son of a West Indian immigrant, he moved to Marin County, California, as a young man.
After witnessing the devastation caused by the 1971 San Francisco Bay oil spill, he stopped riding in motorized vehicles, a vow that lasted 22 years from 1972 until 1994.
He grew up in the city with his brother Dwayne and often spent summers at his aunt and uncle's farm in Virginia, helping them work the land and grow their own food.
Faced with a new sense of the uncertainty of life, Francis decided to act immediately and for the next 22 years refused to ride in motorized vehicles.
[4] Francis describes himself as having had an over-inflated sense of self-importance at this time and says that he initially expected other people to follow his example and also forgo automobiles and other powered vehicles.
[5] Francis then contacted the University of Montana to apply to their graduate environmental studies master's program, letting them know he would not arrive for about two years.
Francis then walked to Wisconsin, where he earned a PhD in 1991 in Land Resources from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
[1] During his studies, the Exxon Valdez disaster occurred, which brought attention to his research on the effects of oil spills.
After completing his degree, he walked to Washington D.C to assist the United States Coast Guard with their response to the disaster.
John and his girlfriend of the time, Jean, sit in their car and overlook the devastation caused by the spill below as people attempt to save the wildlife and clean up the oil.
He struggles to rationalize his lifestyle in the face of such destruction caused by oil, and when a close friend dies a year later, John is finally pushed to stop riding in motorized vehicles.
His father hears of his decision to stop speaking and flies to California to check on him, concerned for John’s health.
John decides to live the life of an activist, which inspires him to make a 500-mile journey to Oregon where he will start his college education.
After his apprenticeship ends, John and a few of his friends start the non-profit Planetwalk, which focuses on raising environmental awareness and education through pilgrimage.
Finally reaching Washington, John begins to feel more physically fit and comfortable in his new nomadic lifestyle.
He takes a yoga class while he stays in the coastal town, enjoying the nature and cold winter weather.
After finishing his boat, coined the Twana, John sells his home in Port Townsend and he prepares to resume his walking journey.
He heads to Missoula, where two years prior he was accepted into the University of Montana’s graduate environmental studies program.
As he prepares to cross the Arco Dessert, John encounters an obstacle, realizing he will have to walk through the US Atomic Energy Commission Reservation, which is illegal.
He struggles to maintain his water source as he travels through the desert, growing anxious as helicopters comb the forest at night.
Soon after he arrives, he is offered a position to work for the Coast Guard, writing legislation for the new Oil Pollution Act.
In 1990, after finishing his degrees, Francis worked for the United States Coast Guard in Washington D.C where he wrote oil spill regulations following the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska.
[1] In 1991, he was appointed United Nations Environmental Program Goodwill ambassador to the World's Grassroots Communities.
