March 13th, 2008
Daylight Savings--A Time Whose Time Has Passed?
Daylight Savings Time was foisted off on an unsuspecting and credulous nation as a great idea back during the 1970s energy crisis. So Congress went ahead and expanded it,more of a good thing.
Indiana may be a state that is united in its love of basketball and corn fields that run to the edge of the horizon, but it’s annually divided by Daylight Savkings Time. Some Indiana counties are dry, others wet, in terms of DST. And from county-by-county comparisons in Indiana comes evidence that daylight savings time actually increases energy use.
Why does DST take more energy? Because people have to get up in the dark. We are not robins, or daffodils, who can regulate our doings based on sunlight. We operate in America on clock time. If you have to be at work at 8AM, that means getting up in the dark. Turning on lights, heater, etc. Duh.
One study found electric bills can go up as much as 4% because of DST. And that has nothing to dco with belief in global warming, or denialthereof. It;s just a little economic reality.
You can go here to join the argument on slashdot.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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