The Miller Center, UVa’s “Center for Public Policy,” made a big deal about a report it just released which studied public perceptions of climate change. Most Virginians think climate change is happening, but less than half of those who think it is happening believe that it’s a human cause.

It seems that Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth has done its job by convincing Virginians that global warming is pretty much going to kill us all.  Despite the criticism to the movie and all the other doomsday news, climate change is something that has become somewhat of a cultural phobia to the good or bad, I have no clue. I digress.

The study’s findings were part of a national effort to study public perception on the topic. Specifically, in Virginia the study found some very interesting things.  The results are after the break:

»Read More

You’ve heard of Earth Day, now there’s “Earth Hour“… This just in from “Plenty” magazine:

Q: I’ve been hearing about a lights-out thing happening tomorrow, called Earth Hour. It seems like a vague concept—what is it, exactly, and will it really accomplish anything? – Mandy, DE

A: Earth Hour is a global, voluntary, lights-out event taking place March 29 from 8-9pm. The idea is to take some time to think about how we use energy, and, of course, to actually save energy. Earth Hour kicked off last year in Sydney, Australia, and the 2.2 million people who turned their lights off saved as much energy as if 48,000 cars had been taken off the roads for an hour. Now raise that number to the N^th degree, because this year, Earth Hour is a global event. Roughly 30 million people in cities large and small, from Dublin to Copenhagen to Tel Aviv to Toronto have said they’ll flick the switch for mama Earth. Earth Hour has even got its own burning cocktail. Check the official site for more details.

Okay, you say—if it’s happening in cities all over the world this year, what about differing time zones? Don’t worry about them. Just turn the lights off from 8-9pm, your local time. And as for how to spend an entire hour of darkness, why not invite friends over for a candle-lit party, read by candlelight, camp out in your backyard, or just relax and have some time entirely to yourself?

For a bit of Earth Hour history, an interview with supporter Cate Blanchette, and adorable words of wisdom from children, check out the Earth Hour video.

Oh, BTW, I am Morgan… Morgan, I am. Just another lurker who has been enjoying cVillain from the sidelines, and thought it was time to chime in. Howdy.