Bill Nye the Science Guy

On Wednesday March 13^th, I saw one of my childhood heroes- Bill Nye, as in, Bill Nye the Science Guy. He gave a free, open to the public speech to a full house at Union

College in Schenectady, NY. I remember watching Bill Nye the Science Guy when I was a kid and feeling like the coolest person in the world when my science teacher showed us an experiment we learned with Bill. The show, which ran on Disney/PBS from 1993 - 98, showed kids that science was all around us and it was cool to be a little nerdy.

^{Bill Nye. (Sorry for the graininess- It's an iPhone with zoom). Personal image}

In his speech, Nye talked about his childhood, his father's unhealthy obsession with sun dials, his slightly less unhealthy obsession with sun dials, and how his obsession got a sundial on the Mar's rover. Nye spoke about the history of Mars exploration and how space exploration is critical to the future. He tied this together by talking about the recent Chelyabinsk meteor and the flyby Asteroid 2012 DA14. Both of these anomalies were small by space standards, but if a meteor the size of 2012 DA14 hit Earth, it could destroy a large city. Nye went on to say that "We are the first generations of humans who can do something about an asteroid or comet impact. We have learned enough about the cosmos and our place in space that we can understand the danger and make a plan."

^{Image Credit: Amazon}

On top of all of his quips, rants, and "that's not Mars, it's a picture of Mars" jokes was a theme of changing the world. Nye stressed that the young generation of today will be presented with all kinds of crazy ideas to solve the serious problems of the world. And while I didn't agree with everything he said (Pluto will always be a planet in my solar system), he had me convinced that we all need to take care of amazing planet that we call home. That hamburger meat shouldn't be cheaper than lettuce and that taking care of the thin layer of atmosphere which keeps Earth from turning into Venus should be a top priority.

^{Image Credit: scientificamerican.com}

Seeing Bill Nye the Science Guy live, hearing his familiar voice, and seeing his signature bow tie brought me back to my childhood. A time when I didn't have to worry about the pollution that my car contributed, or where my meat came from, or that it doesn't really snow during the summer anymore. His speech was a call to action, not for us to go home and solve the Earth's problems (although I don't think he would stop us); it was a call for us to keep an open mind when presented with other peoples' solutions, and to support leaders who favor renewable energy.

More about Bill Nye:

Bill Nye is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He holds three Honorary Doctorate degrees: from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Goucher College, and Johns Hopkins. He has delivered commencement addresses at the University of California Santa Barbara, RPI, Goucher, Hopkins, Harvey Mudd College, and Caltech.