A current star of the YouTube universe is a self-described "high school teacher in the process of burning out" in Independence, Ore., just southwest of Salem.

Greg Craven, a 38-year-old science teacher at Central High School in Independence, posted his homemade video to YouTube four months ago. Since then, "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See" has been viewed 2,782,360 times.

That's earned Craven the #23 spot on YouTube's list of most viewed videos in the news and politics category, just behind U2's "One" video and far out front of a clip called "Is Bush an Idiot?"

The nearly 10-minute video shows Craven, in close-up shots and standing at a white board, stating his case for why we should act now to address global warming.

But Craven's YouTube video is only part of his story.

On Saturday, read The Oregonian's profile of Craven on PDXgreen, The Oregonian's green blog.

Or read the story in print or online in the Sunday Oregonian (available on newsstands Saturday).