PLEASE JOIN ME IN GIVING A WARM WELCOME TO BILL NYE. 
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
THANK YOU. 
WOW, THANK YOU. 
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, DISTINGUISHED FACULTY, 
PARENTS, GUESTS, ALUMNI, KIDS OF ALL AGES, 
AND ESPECIALLY STUDENTS AND GRADUATES, 
WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS. 
IT IS AN HONOR TO ADDRESS YOU TODAY 
AND BE PART OF THIS WONDERFUL CELEBRATION 
OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND OF THE FUTURE. 
CLASS OF 2012, YOU MAY BE THINKING, 
"I MADE IT. THEY CAN'T GET ME NOW." 
OH BUT MY FRIENDS, 
THEY ALREADY HAVE. 
BWAHAHAHAHA!
 YOUR FOUR YEARS HERE HAVE ENRICHED YOU, CHANGED YOU. 
AT LEAST, THAT IS OUR HOPE. 
AND AS GRADUATES OF THIS REMARKABLE UNIVERSITY, YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO GO OUT AND 
DARE I SAY IT? 
CHANGE THE WORLD! 
THIS CAMPUS IS BEAUTIFUL, 
AND IT ALWAYS WILL HOLD IMPORTANT MEMORIES FOR YOU. 
AND WHEN I VISIT HERE, 
I CANNOT HELP BUT REFLECT ON MY DAYS
AND MY MEMORIES. 
WHEN I WAS IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL, PEOPLE, 
IT WAS STRESSFUL. 
FOR WEEKS ON END, THE ONLY MUSIC ON THE RADIO, 
WAS BY BARRY MANILOW. 
SO I KEPT MY HEAD DOWN.
I WAS FOCUSED, AND CONCERNED. 
BACK THEN, EARTH DAY WAS THIS NEW IDEA, 
CREATED IN RESPONSE TO HUMAN CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
THAT SEEMED TO BE EVERYWHERE WE LOOKED.
BACK THEN, WE HAD AIR POLLUTION KILLING PEOPLE IN THEIR SLEEP.
WE HAD TV COMMERCIALS TELLING US ABOUT A DETERGENT, 
WHICH WOULD REMOVE DARK RINGS FROM AROUND OUR COLLARS.
THE RINGS, IT TURNS OUT, 
WERE A RESULT OF DEPOSITS OF SMOGGY SOOT 
THAT WERE FALLING FROM THE SKY.
MANY PLACES WE LOOKED, WE FOUND WATERWAYS IN AN OILY MESS. 
THE PRICE OF GASOLINE SHOT UP SUDDENLY. 
THERE WERE SHORTAGES. 
MOTORISTS WAITED IN LONG LINES TO GET IT. 
IT WAS 1975, 
THE DISCO ERA. 
AND OUR FIRST ENERGY CRISIS.
 THERE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY BE A FEW MORE ENERGY CRISES.  
BUT I CONFESS, I AM HOPING, 
NOT TOO MANY MORE DISCO ERAS. 
AND LET ME TELL YOU, 
THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ON THE PLANET BACK THEN. 
WHEN MY GREAT GRANDFATHER REFUSED TO LET MY GRANDMOTHER 
GO FOR A RIDE WITH THE WRIGHT BROTHERS ON THEIR NEW FLYING MACHINES IN COLLEGE PARK MARYLAND,
THERE WERE ABOUT ONE AND THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. 
DURING WORLD WAR II, WHILE MY FATHER SHOVED SOIL IN A JAPANESE PRISONER OF WAR CAMP,
AND MY MOTHER, A NAVY LIEUTENANT AND CRYPTOGRAPHER, WORKED TO DECIPHER 
THE INFAMOUS, NOTORIOUS GERMAN ENIGMA CODE, 
OUR HUMAN POPULATION HAD RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY TO 2.3 BILLION PEOPLE. 
SOME TIME AFTER THAT, MY PARENTS ADDED ME TO THE WORLD'S MIX. 
THEN AS A BOY IN NEW YORK CITY, 
AT THE WORLD'S FAIR IN 1965, 
I REMEMBER WELL A LARGE DISPLAY, A TOTE BOARD, DEPICTING THE WORLD'S POPULATION. 
IT FASCINATED MY FAMILY AND ME. 
IT WAS LIKE, THE ANTICIPATION OF WATCHING ALL THE NUMBER NINES CHANGE TO ZEROS 
WHEN YOU CAR'S ODOMETER REACHES 100,000 MILES. 
WELL I WAS THERE WHEN THE WORLD POPULATION CHANGED FROM 2,999,999,999 PEOPLE
TO 3 BILLION HUMANS ON EARTH. 
WE HAVE ALL LIVED THROUGH ANOTHER ASTONISHING TRANSITION,
 THE HUMAN NUMBER MOVING FROM FIVE TO SIX BILLION.
I SPOKE HERE NEARLY FIVE YEARS AGO AND I NOTED THAT THE WORLD POPULATION HAD JUST CROSSED 6.7 BILLION MARK. 
WAIT, THERE'S MORE. 
DURING YOUR SENIOR YEARS, AROUND HALLOWEEN OF 2011, THE WORLD'S POPULATION WENT TO SEVEN BILLION. 
SEVEN BILLION PEOPLE, ON WHAT'S PROVING TO BE A PRETTY SMALL WORLD. 
WAIT, THERE'S STILL MORE. 
BY THE TIME YOU GRADUATES REACH YOUR BILLIONTH SECOND HERE ON EARTH, 
WHEN YOU'RE 31 AND A LITTLE OVER SIX MONTHS, 
WE WILL BE PROBABLY AROUND NINE BILLION PEOPLE. 
WELL ON OUR WAY, PERHAPS, TO AN EVEN 12 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH. 
NOT ONLY IS THE WORLD CHANGING BY THE THOUSANDS OF MILLIONS
IT'S CHANGING BY THE MILLIONTHS. 
STUDENTS TODAY, ALONG WITH NEARLY EVERYONE HERE, WERE BORN WHEN THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE,
 ROUNDING TO JUST ONE SIGNIFICANT DIGITS, 
HELD ABOUT .03%, AND I'LL DO THE EXPONENTS FOR YOU, THAT'S 300 PARTS PER MILLION OF CARBON DIOXIDE.
TODAY IT IS .04%. 400 PARTS PER MILLION. 
AND THAT'S IN YOUR LIFETIME. 
THESE ARE FRACTIONS. PARTS OF MILLIONS. 
NEVERTHELESS, THIS TINY CHANGE, IN WHAT FIRST MAY SEEM LIKE AN INSIGNIFICANT GAS
IN AN INSIGNIFICANT POTION OF OUR ATMOSPHERE, 
IS CHANGING THE WORLD. WHEN I WAS WORKING ON THE SCIENCE GUY SHOW, YEARS AGO, 
I DID A FEW BITS ABOUT THE THEN RELATIVELY RECENT DISCOVERIES CONCERNING ANTHROPOGENIC,
OR HUMAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE. 
IT SEEMED LIKE A DISTANT, ALBEIT, LOOMING CONCERN.
IT IS CLEAR NOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE REAL DEAL. 
A HUGE PROBLEM THAT CONCERNS VIRTUALLY EVERY SPECIES ON EARTH. 
EVERY SPECIES, BY THE WAY, INCLUDES US, HUMANS. YOU AND ME. 
EVEN, APPARENTLY, MY OLD BOSS… WAS HUMAN. I ADMIT, I WAS NEVER SURE.  
IF WE HAD AN EXTRAORDINARY CAR OR VEHICLE THAT COULD RID ON AN EXTRAORDINARY ROAD, 
A THOROUGHFARE THAT SOMEHOW WENT STRAIGHT UP THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE, 
WE COULD BE IN OUTER SPACE IN ABOUT TWO HOURS OF HIGHWAY DRIVING. IT'S NOT FAR.
 BECAUSE OUR PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE, ITS LAYER OF AIR, IS SO EXTRAORDINARILY THIN.
IT IS THIS CONVERGENCE OF THE BURGEONING HUMAN POPULATION WITH A REMARKABLY THIS LAYER OF AIR,
THAT IS WARMING OUR WORLD. 
IT'S THE CHALLENGE FOR YOU AND YOUR CLASSMATES, AS YOU STEP INTO THE WORKPLACE. 
A SET OF PROBLEMS LIKE NO ONE BEFORE YOU, NO HUMAN, HAS HAD TO FACE.
 BUT I TELL YOU WHAT. I THINK, AS RIT GRADUATES, YOU ARE UP TO IT. YOU CAN DO THIS. 
WE WANT YOU TO
 DARE I SAY I?
CHANGE THE WORLD!
ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE SAID, OR WHINED, FOR DECADES, DON'T WASTE SO MUCH PAPER,
DON'T DRIVE SO MANY MILES, DON'T USE SO MUCH CLEAN WATER, DO YOUR PART. 
WEAR DIRTY CLOTHES. AND JUST DON'T EAT. 
THAT DOESN'T TURN OUT TO BE A VERY POPULAR PLAN WITH MOST PEOPLE. 
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE BIG PERSONAL AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF US IN ENERGY AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION, 
JUST DOING LESS IS NOT GOING TO GET THE JOB DONE. 
PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE NOT GOING TO SIT BY AND LET THE DEVELOPED WORLD USE ALL THE ENERGY
 AND PUMP OUT ALL THE CARMON DIOXIDE. 
AND HERE'S SOME VERY BAD NEWS. 
APPARENTLY, WE'LL NEVER RUN OUT OF FOSSIL FUELS. WE'LL NEVER USE IT UP. NOT FOR CENTURIES. 
SURE, THERE IS OIL, AND PERHAPS, LESS OF THE REALLY SWEET OIL THAN THERE USED TO BE, 
BUT THERE IS ALSO OIL SAND, AND TAR SAND, AND OIL SHALE AND MAYBE, SHALE TAR. 
AND ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF COAL. 
I MEAN, COAL, COAL, COAL, AND MORE COAL. 
AND RIGHT NOW, NO ONE PAYS FOR THE SMOKE AND THE GASSES THAT BURNING COAL CREATES, 
SO PEOPLE WORLDWIDE WILL BE DIGGING IT UP AND BURNING IT. 
UNCHECKED COAL WILL INDIRECTLY KILL A GREAT MANY OF US. 
THAT IS… THAT IS MY FRIENDS… UNLESS YOU, RIT GRADUATES, FIND A WAY TO LEAD THE WORLD ON NEW PATHS,
 MAKE BIG CHANGES, NEW WAYS TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY, NEW TYPES OF TRANSPORTATIONS, 
AND NEW APPROACHES TO DOING BUSINESS. 
NOW, LIKE ANY ENVIRONMENTALIST, I'M A BIG FAN OF HAVING MORE JUST BY WASTING LESS. 
THAT'S AKIN TO PICKING LOW HANGING FRUIT. IT'S GREAT. 
BUT WE CAN'T JUST DO LESS. THE KEY TO OUT FUTURE IS TO INSTEAD TO FIND WAYS TO DO MORE WITH LESS. 
AS RIT GRADUATES, YOU ARE AMONG THE VERY BEST IN THE WORLD, I HAVE HEARD, THE BEST IN THE WORLD, 
AT THINKING ABOUT NEW  ARRANGEMENTS, NEW TOOLS, AND EVEN, IF I MAY, NEW ENGINEERING TRICKS 
TO REACH FOR THE HIGH HANGING FRUIT. THE BIG PRIZES, AND THE GREAT BIG PRIZES.
 THAT'S WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO FOR US. I'M NOT KIDDING. I WANT YOU ALL TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
 IN EXCITING, NEW, AND BIG WAYS. 
NOW WIND TURBINES ARE COOL. THEY'RE BREEZY, IF I MAY. 
RIT ENGINEERS AND RIT METEOROLOGISTS WILL HELP US UP THEM WHERE THEY'LL DO THE MOST GOOD. GREAT. 
SOLAR PANELS, LIKE THE ONE IN MY NEVER-WINDED WATCH, GO BACK ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS.
 THE CELL IN MY WATCH IS ABOUT 10% EFFICIENT. WHICH IS PLENTY, FOR A WATCH. 
BUT HOW ABOUT IF SOLAR PANELS WERE 50% EFFICIENT? OR 70% EFFICIENT? OR 80 OR 90% EFFICIENT?
HERE'S HOPING AN RIT MATERIAL SCIENTIST BECOMES AN INVENTOR, OR THE VENTURE CAPITALIST, 
OR THE LAWYER, EVEN, WHO GRASPS THE VALUE OF THIS DISCOVERY AND PROTECTS THE IDEA. 
HE OR SHE WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. 
IF YOU CAN INVENT A BETTER BATTERY, ONE THAT CAN STORE MORE ENERGY WITH LESS EXOTIC MATERIALS, 
LESS HARD-TO-FIND METALS, ONE THAT COULD HANDLE THE HEAD WITHOUT THE LOSS OF PERFORMANCE, 
OR JUST PLAIN, WITHOUT CATCHING ON FIRE, YOU WOULD 
DARE I SAY IT? 
CHANGE THE WORLD. 
BUT MY FRIEND, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RICH! YOU WOULD GET CRAZY RICH! 
SPEAKING OF ELECTRICITY, HERE IS THE OLD PROBLEM. HOW DO WE HANDLE AND CONTROL, AND ULTIMATELY DE-ENERGIZE 
ALL THIS NUCLEAR MATERIAL? 
NUCLEAR POWER, I GOT TO TELL YOU, WHEN I WAS A KID, SEEMED LIKE THE GREATEST THING, THE IDEA ANYBODY EVER HAD. 
DIG UP THIS STUFF, YOU PURIFY IT SOMEHOW, FISSION IT - MAKE HEAT, AND JUST BURY IT AGAIN. WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? 
WELL IT TURNED OUT TO BE QUITE A BIT MESSIER THAN THAT.
 ALONG WITH THE DEVASTATION IMPACT AT THE FUKUSHIMA POWER PLANT, KEEP IN MIND THAT NUCLEAR POWER,
INSTEAD OF BEING THIS PANACEA THAT WAS GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD, 
IS TURNING OUT THE BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE WAY YET DEVISED TO BOIL WATER. 
SO WE HAVE 432, 430-SOME COMMERCIAL POWER PLANTS AROUND THE WORLD - NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. 
BUT WHAT IF WE HAVE 14,430? WHAT IS WE HAD 43,030 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS? 
MY FRIENDS, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ACCIDENT. THESE ARE HUMANS. 
I MEAN, JUST THINK IF MY OLD BOSS WAS IN CHARGE. THERE'S GONNA BE AN ACCIDENT. 
WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TONS OF NUCLEAR WASTE, NUCLEAR FUEL AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS, 
AND SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH THEM? 
ON EARTH, NOTHING WE THROW AWAY GOES AWAY. 
IT'S A PROBLEM THAT WE, MY GENERATION, HAS IGNORED FOR THE MOST PART. 
SO IT MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AN INDUSTRIALIST, OR AN ENGINEER, AN ETERNALLY THOUGHTFUL PERSON, 
TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS STUFF. AND YOU WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD. 
IT IS SOBERING FOR ME AND PERHAPS MORE THAN A FEW OF YOUR PARENTS AND FACULTY -- TO CONSIDER THAT YOU ALL, 
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES, YOU KNOW MORE PHYSICS THAN ISAAC NEWTON. 
YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE COSMOS THAN ALBERT EINSTEIN. 
YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THAN GALILEO OR COPERNICUS. 
AND I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THAT SIGNIFICANT WILL BE MADE IN YOUR LIFETIME THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR WORLD. 
IMAGINE THIS, EVERYBODY - WHEN I WAS KID, NO ONE HAD A GOOD THEORY AS TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ANCIENT DINOSAURS. 
I'M NOT KIDDING. I REMEMBER MRS. MAGONICAL, MY SECOND GRADE TEACHER. 
"WELL THEY HAD SMALL BRAINS, THEY WERE STUPID, SO MICE AND BATS BEAT THEM UP AND TOOK THEIR FOOD." 
REALLY?
BUT IN MY LIFETIME WE DISCOVERED THE METEORIC IMPACT CRATER AT CHICXULUB, MEXICO. 
THE EJECTA FROM THAT COLLISION SHOT OUT OVER A DIAMETER BIGGER THAN THE EARTH. 
IT WAS LIKE SCIENCE FICTION, EXCEPT IT WAS REAL. AND IT ESSENTIALLY COOKED THE BIG ANIMALS. 
