time for my yearly rant

[arrow]

Well, the clocks went back last night. Some of you know this is a pet peave of mine along with a bunch of other stupid things the government does. It got me to thinking of a different way to get this done. I am wondering why we cannot first go back 1/2 hour say from Oct.1 to Nov.1. for the first year. Add an additional 1/2 hour from Nov 1 to Mar 28 then go back a half hour after this. Then leave the clocks alone. We would only need to bring the clocks ahead and back 1/2 hr and only to accommodate the morning light. The only change would need to be in Nov-Mar. and the only bump up would be at only 1/2 hr. This would make the transition easier and you'd only lose 1/2 hr of daylight in the summer which still gives plenty of light for the longer work day folks.

 

[bcp]

Leave the clocks alone, but businesses, gov't, etc. have winter hours and summer hours.

Bruce

 

[WilliamBos]

You could move to a place that does not participate in DST.

 

[smstonypoint]

Here's the abstract of an interesting article that provides evidence that DST actually increases energy use.
http://www2.bren.ucsb.edu/~kotchen/links/DSTpaper.pdf



Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana
Matthew J. Kotchen and Laura E. Grant
NBER Working Paper No. 14429
October 2008
JEL No. H43,Q4,Q5,Q51

ABSTRACT
The history of Daylight Saving Time (DST) has been long and controversial. Throughout its implementation during World Wars I and II, the oil embargo of the 1970s, consistent practice today, and recent extensions,
the primary rationale for DST has always been to promote energy conservation. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little evidence that DST actually saves energy. This paper takes advantage of a natural
experiment in the state of Indiana to provide the first empirical estimates of DST effects on electricity consumption in the United States since the mid-1970s. Focusing on residential electricity demand, we conduct the first-ever study that uses micro-data on households to estimate an overall DST effect. The dataset consists of more than 7 million observations on monthly billing data for the vast majority of households in southern Indiana for three years. Our main finding is that contrary to the policy's
intentions, DST increases residential electricity demand. Estimates of the overall increase are approximately 1 percent, but we find that the effect is not constant throughout the DST period. DST causes the greatest
increase in electricity consumption in the fall, when estimates range between 2 and 4 percent. These findings are consistent with simulation results that point to a tradeoff between reducing demand for
lighting and increasing demand for heating and cooling. We estimate a cost of increased electricity bills to Indiana households of $9 million per year. We also estimate social costs of increased pollution emissions that range from $1.7 to $5.5 million per year. Finally, we argue that the effect is likely to
be even stronger in other regions of the United States.

Steve

 

[NativeSon]

Leave the clocks alone, but businesses, gov't, etc. have winter hours and summer hours.

Bruce

Amen brother!!

Charlie

 

[Turbys_1700]

My great grandfather never changed his watch or clocks to daylight savings time...
He was a staunch Republican and called it Democrat time...