Daylight Savings Time - Why?

"Because we've always done it that way."

As Isaac Asimov put it, if the government issued an edict saying that every citizen must arise an hour earlier for the next eight months, the American people would march on Washington in a solid bloc and start tossing legislators into the Potomac until the majority started voting the other way. But instead, they deputized a stupid, lying CLOCK to tell us the same thing, and up we get like good little boys and girls. We won't obey people, but we trust technology. That, friends, is what's wrong with us!

The only rationale with a trace of validity is that people are more tired on the trip home so the extra light helps them avoid accidents. Well okay, that explains DST in the spring and fall. But why summer? It should be in effect in the frelling WINTER, when the sun sets really early!

I don't think they count the number of accidents people have, standing on tiptoe on rickety office chairs, trying to reach every clock in the building twice a year. Or the number of people who've been beaten up for arriving an hour early or an hour late at an important event. Or the number of people who've been beaten up for scheduling an important event on the Monday after the time change.

I really hate not being able to see my garden in the morning before I leave for work. Puts me in a rotten mood for the entire day, making it more likely I'll have an Industrial Accident.

And who wants to take their date out on a pleasant summer evening and try to steal a kiss -- in broad daylight?

Daylight Saving Time should be outlawed. If America were that desperate to save energy, we'd all be encouraged to telecommute.

In the north (Washington), the effect is more dramatic. For example, the sky stays fairly lit until around 10pm in the summer, so our light hours are extended compared with the southern states. DST only adjusts us a little more in one direction to try to take advantage of the lit hours.

Extending it seems rather silly to me, since the light starts dropping off noticably towards winter. It is so rainy here usually that the lights are on anyway during the day, so I think someone didn't think this proposal through.

I probably read this in Discover or some science mag. I read that if we don't have DST, we will lose something like 8 seconds a year and then there was some formula that we would lose a year by year XXXX. This was based on the Roman calendar. I'm not doing the math. If you're that curious and bored, you do it.

I figure I won't be alive to see it, so it doesn't matter to me. I just think some people have way too much time on their hands. No pun intended.

Well the idea of it saving electricity is a stupid reason for DST if you ask me. Heck if that's all it was about the government is being deceived bigtime. I know folks who leave TVs and lights on in their house even its a bright sunny day outside. My girlfriend always leaves her light on in the kitchen when we go out, even if its during the day.

And since the clock doesn't adjust to the sun, also because where you are on the planet you get a different amount of daylight -- the 2 month extension is simply stupid.

However you are wrong, if we didn't set the clock back we would in fact have less hours of daylight that are for lack of better term "useable". Because true the sunrise is earlier but if we never set the clocks back we would have less daylight hours to enjoy when we got home from work.

I really don't care all that much how sunny and beautiful its out if I'm stuck in the office all day long, its how it is outside on my free time that I care about.

If you actually care, and like to read, here's a good site that answers the question of who/what/when/where/why? http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/index.html

It was, a little bit, more than I ever really wanted to know about the whole thing.

As a parent, I find DST to be a bit of a pain in the butt... my 2 year old can't read the clock yet and he's up at 5:30 standard time most mornings... little twerp!!! I should beat him and tie him to the bed... or just get up with him and blearily watch Blue's Clues at 5:30 in the morning. He is awfully cute dancing along with Blue and Steve. I hate Joe.

The last time we went to year round DST was in the mid 70's under the Nixon administration.

While still a controversy in itself, here is where I understand the potential energy savings comes from:

The primary energy savings in extended DST is not from people using any less energy. It comes from the change in the peak demand for electricity.

In the late fall and early spring, there is an increase in electricity demand at dusk. Offices and factories are still running at normal operation. Then home and street lights come on.
If the spike in demand is large enough, low efficiency "peaking" power generators are brought on line to cover the demand.

When you extend DST, you level off the peak in demand and keep the peaking plants off line.

The secondary savings comes from the US lifestyle. More people are active in the afternoon and evening than in the morning. So, the later it gets dark, the later lights are turned on.

As to why not year round DST?

First, it would just be too convenient to not have to change 20 clocks twice a year.

Secondly, near the Winter Solstice, dusk comes so early that demand would still cause a spike at dusk. At some latitudes, the spike under DST might actually be larger than the spike under standard time.

The only real winner of the switch to DST is the outdoor recreation industry.

Chas

In Scotland where we are pretty far North it has been calculated that by changing the clocks back one hour for winter it saves the lives of around 10 people every year. These fatalities would normally be children who would otherwise have to walk to school in the dark in the morning if the clocks didn't change. Seems like a fairly decent argument to me. Apart from that it's a pain in the rear.

Lou

The arguments toward increasing the safety of travel, whether it be for children walking to school in Scotland or whether it be folks making the daily commute is one thing and I can respect that, support it as well. However, I think the thing that is ignorant in it is the simplistic statement of the amount of oil saved. 10,000 barrels daily or 3.65 million annually of a total 20 million daily or 7.3 billion annually. My take on that is it is just another arbitrary, "look, we're green!", slight of hand on the part of the U.S. government. Tripe. If the government was really interested in conserving energy and driving a green culture they'd tax the heck out of 6, 10, 15 mile to the gallon SUV's, govern their own cars, drop the speed limit back to 55 and institute fines that actually served as a deterent rather than just the price of doing as you dang well please.

DST? I'd love to see it go further for a lot of reasons but "conservationism" is not one of them.

The Eldorado Daily Journal asked its readers to save daylight during Daylight Savings Time, and has offered a prize for the person who saves the most.

The rules are simple:

"Beginning with the first day of Daylight Savings Time, those entering the contest must begin saving daylight. Those who save the most daylight by midnight of the last day of Daylight Savings Time will be awarded a prize."

"Only pure daylight is allowed. No pre-dawn light or twilight will be accepted. Daylight on cloudy days is allowable. Moonlight is strictly prohibited and any of it mixed with daylight will bring immediate disqualification."

"Contestants are instructed to save their accumulated daylight in any container they wish, then bring the container to the Daily Journal office at the end of DST ? or when they think they have saved enough daylight to win."

"The problem is children, especially in cities."

That's where it should have ended :)

I noted that during the Winter Solstice, the sun set at 4:45 PM where I live (Montgomery, AL). If we were on DST, the time would be 5:45 PM, and most people (getting off work 4:30 - 5 PM) around here would be able to drive home while it was still light if we were on DST during the Winter Solstice. During the Summer Solstice, sun sets about 8 PM DST, so it makes no difference for the evening commute. I am well aware how the seasons work with the tilt of the Earth, and the effect is more drastic the closer you get to the poles. But there are large parts of the USA where year long DST would enable evening commutes before sunset, and still have daylight during morning commutes.

I read somewhere that DST is a holdover from WW1. It was enacted for some reason to aid in the war effort. So since it was only a temporary war measure it should be repealed any time now. Just takes government types a little while to get around to it. They're waiting for the paperwork to go through.

True story. Darwin Awards 1999

The switch away from daylight savings time caused consternation among terrorist groups this year. At precisely 5:30 Israel time on Sunday, two coordinated car bombs exploded in two different cities, killing three terrorists who were transporting the bombs.

It was initially believed that the devices had been detonated prematurely by klutzy amateurs. A closer look revealed the truth behind the untimely explosions. Three days before, Israel had made a premature switch from daylight savings time to standard time in order to accommodate a week of Slihot, involving pre- sunrise prayers. Palestinians refused to "live on Zionist time." Two weeks of scheduling havoc ensued.

The bombs had been prepared in a Palestine-controlled area, and set on Daylight Savings time. The confused drivers had already switched to standard time. As a result, the cars were still enroute when the explosives detonated, delivering to the terrorists their well-deserved demise.