This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 27, 2008 - As Kermit the Frog said, it's not easy being green. But Bill Nye - the Science Guy - hopes to simplify the process in a new television show.
"It's so hard for us to understand, but every single thing you do affects everyone in the world," says Nye, who is also an author and inventor. "Traditionally environmentalists want you to do less. Don't drive as much. Wear dirty clothes. If you can, just don't even eat. Turns out this doesn't really appeal to people. What we have to do is find ways to do more with less and the show makes that point."
The show Nye refers to, Stuff Happens, will air on Planet Green network, a new branch of Discovery Communications. The first episode will premiere at 8 p.m., Sept. 2.
"I've been worried about climate change since I took astronomy in the 1970s," Nye says. "I had a professor who to people my age is very well known, Carl Sagan, who was the guy who really promoted the notion of nuclear winter."
For Nye, climate change trumps all other problems. "I don't mean to exaggerate when I say, we're all gonna die!" Nye says in an elevated voice.
"Climate change is the most serious thing going. Everyone is concerned about the mortgage crisis, military situation, how our science education is growing further and further behind peer countries. But really, much bigger than all of that, is climate change."
Nye began his career in science by working in aeronautics and enjoys studying fluid mechanics. He segued into the entertainment world by developing the Science Guy character in comedic sketches, during which he donned bow ties, his lab coat and big goggles. His persona evolved into the Emmy-winning educational TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, which demonstrated scientific phenomena in a user-friendly way. Since Science Guy, Nye has worked on numerous TV shows, such as Numb3rs and 100 Greatest Discoveries.
In Stuff Happens, Nye explains scientifically how, well, things happen. Specifically, he shows the environmental impacts of daily activities. For example, in the episode about stuff that happens in bathrooms, Nye explains that toothpaste endangers orangutans in Borneo. And wearing lipstick -- and kissing the lips embalmed in it -- increases the body's lead absorption. To ease the process of becoming environmentally friendly, Nye proposes economical consumer alternatives. Instead of using atmospherically damaging shave gel, for example, try a brush and soap.
"This show won't change the world overnight, but, as they say, it is leaning in the right direction," Nye says.
Nye's house is his lab. "I just shot the lid, oh yeah, you heard me," Nye says. A new installation on the lower surface of his roof will "provide a radiant barrier, will hold in heat and keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter." Last week, Nye replaced all the recessed lighting fixtures with modern ones that don't leak heat.
Nye runs his house on solar power. "My solar hot water system is unique, it works very well. My gas bill for hot water is less than $12 a month, my electric bill is $7 a month." Nye irrigates his own garden, and has more beans than he can eat. His pumpkins grew to "the size of beach balls!"
Why bother with these dramatic lifestyle differences? Nye says because they are cheap and green. He makes fewer trips to the grocery store and saves on electricity. But more important, he practices what he preaches. "I'm trying to learn about the systems so I understand them and I could speak knowledgeably," Nye says.
"The people who are into science are better at it than ever," Nye says. He joked that due to the superior quality of science students today, he was accepted by Cornell University by a clerical error (clearly he wasn't, since Cornell recently invited him to become a visiting professor, a position he accepted happily).
Scientifically, Nye places the most import in climate change. But despite increased quality of the science that is being done, lagging American interest in science irks him as well.
"We have fewer than we were used to. We depend on science, so that's not good," Nye says. "To have fewer and fewer people who understand the scientific process is a formula for disaster. I'm trying to change the world by getting more people interested."
Nye says that everywhere he goes -- with the exception of India and China -- people stop to ask him science questions. He cited UFOs as a common inquiry. To some, pondering and explaining the possibility of extraterrestrial life on the way to work would be arduous, if not painful. But not for Nye. "When you're in love, you want to tell the world and cling to science questions."
Joy Resmovits, a rising junior at Barnard College, is an intern with the Beacon.