For Perceive, the Base indicates what the target of your perception is - otherwise, all Perceive spells would be Mind.
So an Earth/Perceive spell would allow you to "feel" the earth, its composition, plants growing, etc. - but a bird flying around in the area would be unnoticed.
Like transportation, a "remote perception" spell would need its Effect set based on the distance and area you want to cover. See http://lemuria.org/SM3/welcome/notes .
Thanks Tom, my concept was basically he will be taking something akin to a astrological reading, but based on the "feel"of the local environmental.
