After seeing the massive pollution of a 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, John Francis started walking. He gave up all motorized transportation and for 22 years went everywhere on foot, including treks across the United States and parts of South America. He hoped to inspire others to drop out of the petroleum economy. Walking was followed by silence. Francis, the son of working-class African-American parents in Philadelphia, stopped speaking and communicated through improvised sign language, notes and his banjo. The environmental pilgrim says his silence was a gift to his community. "Because, man, I just argued all the time," he says. His silence helped him listen to others and the larger world around him, both of which transformed his approach to personal communication and activism.