Lance Bass Says He Loves 'Everything' About Fatherhood, But Admits 'It Does Go by Way Too Quickly'

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Lance Bass is loving being a dad.

While speaking with PEOPLE at the Environmental Media Awards Gala Saturday, the NSYNC alum, 43, said he loves "everything" about fatherhood.

"It does go by way too quickly. I cannot believe it's been a year. It's just nuts," he said of his twins, Alexander James and Violet Betty, whom he shares with husband Michael Turchin.

Bass said he is making a point to enjoy the milestones his twins are reaching as they grow up.

"Right now, my daughter finally took her first step, so that's been something that's so nice," he said. "My son said his first word a month ago, but he hasn't said it again. So all those little milestones are just so precious."

Bass and Turchin, 35, who wed in 2014, welcomed Alexander and Violet via surrogate on Oct. 13 of last year.

Bass said he imagines what the future of his children will be like, even though they're not even a year old. His goal is "to try to create some just good, responsible, nice kids and combat a lot of the ignorance in this world."

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Part of that, he explained, is being environmentally responsible. "They will definitely be growing up as a very green family," he said. "You have to just make it part of your life."

He said he wants green living to be "what we naturally do" and not a "big deal" for his kids. "I'm excited to teach them all the green ways I possibly can," Bass added.

Bass said he has been "very passionate" about environmental causes his whole life. And although his lifelong mission has been to get the word out about helping the planet, he can "feel [a shift] now."

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"In the last few years, people are actually paying attention because you can't ignore that climate change is happening," he explained. "Now that everyone knows it's real, people are listening, and we're able to really get the messages out of what we can do to try to combat it."

Bass says his optimism is rooted in hope for the young generation.

"Environmental justice is going to be the big thing for them, and I feel so happy to know that they are in it for the right reasons," Bass said. "They grew up learning about climate change, something that I didn't even know about 15 years ago. But this young generation, this is what they live and that's just their future and their kids' future and their grandchildren's future. So they know it's so important to take care of it right now, or we're not going to have a great planet for our kids to live in."

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When the twins were just 5 months old, Bass spoke to PEOPLE (the TV Show!) about adjusting to parenthood and said that he could get enough of being a dad.

"I'm just so obsessed with them," he said of his son and daughter. "Every friend's like, 'Look, enjoy every second because it'll fly by like no other and you'll miss this stage.' I'm already getting teary-eyed because they're already 5 months and I can see that it's just flying by right now."