Can one man change the world by not talking?

John Glionna has an interesting profile in today’s LA Times about John Francis, a man who stopped speaking for 17 years.

Moved by an oil spill in San Francisco Bay, John Francis in 1973 stopped speaking, stopped using motor vehicles, and began a solitary, speechless trek across the world. For 17 years, he used a mix of signing, facial expression, art, writing, and banjo to communicate and connect. Along the way, he wore out 100 pairs of shoes and earned 3 degrees in science and environmental studies. And somehow, in the process of giving up his voice, he gave a voice to an uncompromising idea about humans and the way they interact with each other and with the earth.

John Francis began speaking again on Earth Day 1990.

“At first it was all about oil pollution, loss of habitat, cutting down trees,” he said. “It evolved into a deeper meaning: how humans treat each other when they meet, opening dialogues so we can talk about things like saving the Earth.”