By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer

WAILUKU — Quick, name a middle-aged mechanical engineer who wears a bow tie and can bring hundreds of adolescents screaming to their feet.

Impossible? Nope.

It happened Tuesday in the War Memorial Gymnasium when Bill Nye the Science Guy spoke to 7th-graders from schools across the island.

“Am I the only guy wearing a bow tie here?” asked Nye, 52, who later said he’s been to Maui six or seven times over the years to film segments for his Emmy-Award-winning program “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

The PBS series ran from 1993 to 1997 and remains in reruns, as do some of his other popular science-education programs. Nye also frequently makes guest television appearances, including on CBS’ “Numb3rs” and The Weather Channel.

Nye came with a purpose Tuesday. As part of the Dowling Co. Inc. second annual “Focus on Green Lecture Series,” Nye challenged young people to seek reductions in global warming, make alternative energy sources more viable and support more exploration of Mars.

All of these topics he managed to explain through their relationship to Maui, although he was cut short — perhaps ironically — because of bad acoustics and squirmy kids in the hollow gym. Still, the former stand-up comic and aeronautics consultant moved on with aplomb and sought questions from the audience.

He told the youngsters that with Maui’s trade winds and sunny skies, the island could become a giant laboratory for alternative energy innovation.

Specifically, Nye said that Maui should find a way to create a first-of-its-kind electrical grid that relies on solar, wind, and other sources on homes and businesses to power electric cars. The excess energy could be sold back to the local power company, which currently relies mostly on fossil fuels.

“With all the sources of energy here, Maui could become completely independent of fossil fuels,” Nye said. “I want Maui to change the world. I want you to change the world.”

The tallest hurdle would be inventing a fuel cell or battery with much greater electrical capacity than what exists today. Whoever does that will become wealthy beyond imagination, he said.

“You could make crazy money,” Nye told the crowd.

In his presentation and during the question-and-answer session, Nye compared the volcanic red soil of Maui to Mars’, explaining that they both get their color from iron oxidation. It’s rust, Nye said.

“It is astonishing, and it is millions of miles away,” Nye said.

He also told the youngsters how he convinced NASA to put a sundial (A love of which he said he learned from his father) on the Mars rover. The sundial serves the duel purpose of showing the position of the sun and measuring the color of the atmosphere in its shadow, Nye said.

Kalama Intermediate student Ann Marie Andres said students had been taught about the similarities of Mars and Maui. But she enjoyed learning about how to find the color of the sky in a shadow on white paper.

Nye said if NASA scientists retrieved the evidence of life likely trapped in Mars’ frozen moisture, it could also change the world forever. He even suggested that Maui students figure out a way to build a rover that can repel down lines into the ravines on Mars where frozen water exists.

As for global warming, Nye told the children it is very real, but not to be discouraged by those who say it cannot be turned back. He explained how in a 15-year period after World War I, America went from a horse-and-buggy society to one dominated by the combustible engine.

We could go back to nonemission releasing forms of travel and energy just as quickly, he said.

“It was very informative,” said Iao Intermediate student Marley Tokunaga-Isaacs. “I liked how he explained why the world is as it is right now.”

Lokelani Intermediate School math teacher, Bryan Molina, agreed.

“I think he provided a good message as far as what students can be doing to improve the world they are living in,” Molina said.

Nye, who also writes children’s books, also Tuesday evening for the Dowling Co. lecture series at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The development company uses environmentally friendly or green-building techniques.

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