Bill Nye educated thousands of kids and made science cool to learn. Though he’s put those days behind him, the television science personality still wants to educate people on how to lower your carbon footprint at home.
“[You need to learn about] a universal awareness of your place in space,” Nye told Techland. “Look at the planet Venus and say, ‘I don’t want that to happen here.’ I hope that will give some people pause to thought about global warming.”
(More on TIME.com: Recycling Old Electronics Can Pay Off)
Nye is now the executive director of The Planetary Society, the Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman-founded astronomy NGO. Just because his work focuses on things out of this world doesn’t mean he’s not very concerned about what’s happening on our planet. He thinks that we should all pay closer attention, whether that’s by raising awareness with films like Avatar (The Planetary Society just awarded Cameron the Cosmos Award for his work) or doing your own part at home.
Nye, for one, has taken steps to eliminate his carbon footprint, and even has a friendly competition with Ed Begley, Jr. on who can be more environmentally conscious at home. The scientist claims he’s winning: Even though temperatures near his home close to Los Angeles, Calif. reached 108 degrees during the last heat wave, Nye only turned on his air conditioning once due to the precautions he took to save energy. He added proudly that his electricity bill is only $10 a month, and that only went up from $7 because the basic cost of administration raised prices across the board.
(More on TIME.com: James Cameron’s Avatar DVD Experience How-to: “Sit Close to the TV”)
The television personality suggested that it doesn’t take much to save energy and money. Though he’s changed a lot of tech in his home, as he showed Techland when he took us on a tour of his house, simple things like turning off the lights or being more conscientious when buying technology can make a huge difference. “The car you choose is the single biggest thing that affects the environment,” he said.
“Earth is my favorite planet. It’s where I grew up and all my friends here,” he joked.
More on TIME.com:
Black Friday Ads: Tech Deals Worth Waking Up For
From Our Friends @ The Daily What: