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John Francis | |
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| Born | 1946 (age 77–78) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Southern Oregon University (BS) University of Montana (MA) University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD, 1991) |
| Occupation | Environmentalist |
| Known for | Not riding in motorized vehicles (1972-1994)
Vow of silence (1973-1990) United Nations Environmental Program Goodwill ambassador (1991) Wrote Planetwalker: How to Change Your World One Step at a Time |
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. From 1973 until 1990, he also spent 17 years voluntarily silent. During this time, he studied for a PhD in land management and traveled extensively, walking across the entire width of the lower 48 states of the USA as well as walking to South America. He published his memoir Planetwalker: How To Change Your World One Step at a Time (republished as Planetwalker: 17 Years of Silence, 22 Years of Walking) detailing his travels.