On Wednesday March 13th, 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.
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