Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Is Daylight Saving Time Worth It?

I apologize for the lack of posts over the last few days.  In addition to a very busy week, daylight saving time has been kicking my butt.  So, what better to write about?


Get your hoe ready!

Daylight saving time (notice that it is not daylight "savings" time) was established in the US in response to WWI and WWII, as wartime measures to conserve energy resources.  However, a peacetime federal law standardizing DST in the US wasn't passed until 1966.  While individual states were allowed to exempt themselves, it set the dates for the time change to be from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.  In 2007, DST was extended to last from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday of November.  And so, here we are, sunny times!

Why must I be robbed of an hour of sleep every year?  Well, the idea is that by setting clocks forward an hour, people are generally forced to get up an hour earlier, being more productive and requiring less energy to light homes and businesses in the evening.  Does it work?  There are mixed results from various studies on the issue; I personally like having more sunlight later in the evening, but I also hate having to get used to it.

What are your thoughts?

7 comments:

  1. It's a waste of time in today's world.

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  2. There are still too many places in the US where outdoor labor is a huge part of the economy for this to go away anytime soon. Also, good point about the energy saved in lighting homes, gives us urban folks a small economic upside.

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  3. All it has done is make me an hour late waking up every year. How are we expected to remember shit like this?

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  4. Its good when we gain an extra hour to sleep. Not so much when we lose an hour

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  5. its great when i get to sleep an extra hour... and i don't mind so much when i miss an hour ;)

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  6. its fun when you can sleep extra hour :P

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