John Francis - Redefining Environment

http://www.connectingforchange.org John Francis, Ph.D., known the world over as the Planetwalker, will discuss
how the current environmental crisis is a reflection of world‐wide social
and economic inequity and that any attempt to resolve the crisis must not
only address the scientific issues, such as climate‐change and deforestation
but also the humanitarian issues. From peace and justice to everyday
civility, Dr. Francis contends that our connection to the earth as well as each other is at the heart of the environmental crisis.

John Francis, known the world over as the Planetwalker began his environmental work in 1971, when he witnessed a tanker collision and oil spill in San Francisco Bay. He gave up the use of motorized vehicles and began to walk, because he felt partly responsible for the mess that washed up on the shore. Several months later, because of the arguments his decision to walk seemed to create, John took a vow of silence lasting 17 years.

During that time, he founded Planetwalk a non-profit environmental awareness organization, received a B.S. degree from Southern Oregon State College, a Masters degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana-Missoula, and a PhD in Land Resources from the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ending his silence, John served as project manager for the United States Coast Guard Oil Pollution Act Staff of 1990, in Washington, DC.

He is the author of Planetwalker: 17-Years of Silence, 22-Years of Walking, published by the National Geographic Society.