"If we continue to eschew science ... we are not going to move forward. We will not embrace natural laws. We will not make discoveries. We will not invent and innovate and stay ahead."

"We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future."

"I say to the grownups, 'If you want to deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we've observed in the universe that's fine. But don't make your kids do it.'"

"When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in (evolution) it holds everybody back, really."

"Please, you don't want to raise a generation of science students who don't understand how we know our place in the cosmos, who don't understand natural law."

"I will assert that U.S. economic growth is in lockstep with science and technology and, by extension, science education."

"When you compare Mars to Earth, and Venus to Earth, you can see the problem [earthlings face]. We do not want to become Venus."

"It's not cool ... or it's not cool enough. The world is getting warmer, that's all there is to it. I want you guys to stop this. I want you to change the world."

"If we found life on Mars, it would change everybody's view of our place in space."

"Nature is bottom up. It's compelling and complex, and it fills me with joy and it's inconsistent with the top down view."

"Spacecraft sent to Mars, Saturn, Mercury, the moon, comets, and asteroids have been making incredible discoveries, with more to come from recent launches to Jupiter, the moon, and Mars. The country needs more of these robotic space exploration missions, not less."

"The Earth is just a speck of sand in the universe. And there's no cavalry coming over the hill to rescue it."

"The Earth has never warmed this fast. We need to see how much we can change the world in the next 20 years."

"The more we learn about volcanoes, the more we learn about the earth. Learning about the earth is more important than it has ever been."

"It is this fragile nature of the earth's atmosphere that I want everybody to appreciate. It's what I call your place in space."

"To exclude kids in formal education from science is bad for everybody."

"Carbon dioxide has never entered the atmosphere so fast. In 1976 the carbon dioxide level was at 0.03 percent. We've lived through a change to 0.04 percent."

"The single biggest impact a person can have on the Earth is driving a car, either driving a fuel-efficient car or just driving it less."

"It will take more time for the change we have to effect, but we don't have more time. The carbon dioxide on Earth, just in the last four years, has increased from .03 percent to .04 percent. And the change will have a significant impact on everyone."

"Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science, in all of biology. It's like, it's very much analogous to trying to do geology without believing in tectonic plates. You're just not gonna get the right answer. Your whole world is just gonna be — a mystery. Instead of an exciting place."

"People like to grab stuff, hold things in their hands and make things happen. Children’s museums are ideal for these kinds of things. There’s nothing more fun, to me."

"Half the humans are women, so I think half the scientists should be women - a legacy of my parents."

"I'm an educator. You do what you have to do to get what you are saying across, and if that means being funny, that's what I do."

"How could there be billions of stars more distant than 6,000 years, if the world is only 6,000 years old?"

"I find both humor and grimness in most issues."

"There are major issues that people - as taxpayers and voters - will have to make informed decisions on in the near future. They will need to understand the science and the ethical considerations to form their opinions. Some of these are issues that will affect humanity for decades to come."

"Global climate change is a big deal to me. We need to change our ways."

"I don't want people memorizing the planets or counting how many plants there are in the world. But I want them to know that the world is 4.56 billion years old, and I want them to know how we know it is 4.56 billion years old. It's wonderful and exciting, and it creates a reverence for nature. When I see people reject all that, it's kind of creepy."

"Change the world - even if ever so slightly - is my goal."

"If I were the king of the forest, and I’m not, we would have more astronomy."

"You don’t need a PhD in climate science to understand what’s going on, that we have overwhelming evidence that the climate is changing. That you cannot tie any one event to that is not the same as doubt about the whole thing."

"I encourage you to look at the world around you and think about how it works. My friends, you can go forth and make this world a better place."

"The passion and beauty and joy of science is that we humans have invented a process to understand the universe in a way that is true for everyone. We are finding universal truths."

"Without clouds we wouldn't have rain. Without rain there is no water, no crops and no food for you and me. Humans would not exist without the sun, heat, water and oxygen from plants."

"Was it appropriate to jail the guys from Enron? ... Was it appropriate to jail people from the cigarette industry who insisted that this addictive product was not addictive, and so on? ... In these cases, for me, as a taxpayer and voter, the introduction of this extreme doubt about climate change is affecting my quality of life as a public citizen. ... That there is a chilling effect on scientists who are in extreme doubt about climate change, I think that is good."

"Nye, who grew up in Washington, D.C., graduated from Cornell University in 1977 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was lured to the West Coast by Boeing and made an immediate and significant contribution, designing a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor for their 747s."

"Look at the facts. We need you to change things, not deny what's happening."

"When people start rejecting the fundamental understanding of the world that scientific process brings you, well, that's bad in my opinion."

"Nye, a Cornell University graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, studied under the late astronomer Carl Sagan."

"Gender is determined by your chromosomes."

"The invention process is a great exercise for kids. It compels them to define an actual problem, formulate an original solution, develop a product, and share the results or products with their friends and peers."

"Science is the most important thing you can study in school."

"When people, some of them very intellectual, claim that evolution is not true, I get a little nervous."

"I can be educational, but if I'm not funny and entertaining, too, who's going to come and listen to me or watch me on TV."

"We want to get young people excited about inventing so they'll be future inventors, and change the world."

"Bill Nye is many things: comedian, scientist, author, inventor, TV personality."

"Good science makes a clean environment."

"I might be trying to change the world, but I also better be funny while I'm doing it. I've never lost sight of that."

"Everything you can touch and depend on in our society goes back to science."

"Oops! Sorry! I heard someone say “Roar” so it’s kinda went for it."