Talking with Bill Nye about 'Great Big World of Science'

Before he was "The Science Guy," Bill Nye came to Seattle in the 1970s to work as a Boeing engineer. A Steve Martin look-alike contest got Nye into comedy and a 17-year career on the Seattle comedy scene.

Nye's energetic blend of entertainment and science struck a chord with his popular PBS series "Bill Nye the Science Guy." He has also written more than a dozen books for kids and adults, including his latest, "Bill Nye's Great Big World of Science." Nye recently talked about his new book, how the next generation of kids can change the world and more.

Tell us about the new book.

I'm very proud of it; I put my heart and soul into it. It's full of beautiful color illustrations, and it's full of demonstrations, so if you're home right now with your family and you're going a little crazy, check out "Great Big World of Science" for some experiments you can do at home. I have a discussion of a wide-ranging array of science topics, ones very appropriate for people when they're 10, 12, 14 years old. And that turns out to be a pretty good level for everybody.

I talk about the scientific method and how we made these discoveries, life science, your body, animal bodies, plant bodies. There's climate change. It's the book I've always wanted to write.

To borrow the title from your Netflix show, how exactly do we save the world, and what is the greatest threat to mankind?

It just didn't seem possible to people my age for a species like ours to change the climate of an entire planet. But we did, we are, and so we've got to deal with it. ... To do that we'll do three specific things: provide clean water to everyone for everyone on Earth, renewably produced, reliable electricity, and access to the internet for everyone. If we can do those things, people your age are going to save the world. And by the way, the world is going to be here — what we want to do is save the world for us.

You mention these monumental goals, but are there problems science can't solve?

Science itself doesn't do a thing, it's scientists that do things. So the biggest problems in general are not scientific, the biggest problems are political. Getting everybody on board with this idea that we're going to do something, that we're going to create a new energy infrastructure, is hard.

Did you ever imagine having this widespread reach as a science educator?

The answer is "absolutely, without question, sort of." That it is to say that when we made [episodes of "Bill Nye the Science Guy"], we hoped they would be of value in informal education. We were at the right place at the right time. These shows stood the test of time, I think, because everybody on the crew was on board with the great vision: We're going to change the world, we're going to make science fun and we're going to engage people so they want to learn about science. And everybody in the crew just had a terrific sense of humor, which is essential to the "Science Guy" show.

In writing another educational book for kids, you're returning to your original target audience. What's your message to middle schoolers?

You can change the world — and we need you to, because there are so many of us now. When I was a kid, there were fewer than 3 billion people. Now there's going to be 8 billion. And so accidentally, humans have ended up in charge of the planet. It is an awesome responsibility. But it's an awesome — and I mean, one that fills you with awe — opportunity. We can do this, and young people, you are the future. So let's get out there and change the world.