Posted on 03/05/2014 5:32:18 PM PST by BenLurkin
We’ll put our unabashed bias as a lover of the night sky right up front: we loathe Daylight Saving Time. And it’s not just because of the biannual hunt through our home for the dozen-odd non-networked clocks that it instigates twice a year. For astronomers, the shift to DST means that true darkness falls much later in the evening, marking the abrupt end of the school star party season not long after March. You don’t have to go far north to about latitude 45 degrees to find areas where it doesn’t get dark until about 11PM local towards mid-summer. And sure, we gain back an extra hour of morning darkness, albeit that too soon dwindles towards summer as well.
The primary rational behind DST use is to cut energy consumption. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation during the adoption of DST during the 1970’s OPEC Oil Embargo and the energy crisis showed a small but measurable net savings during the implementation of DST, as well as a small decrease in the crime rate. On the down side, many find it difficult to adjust their body clocks to the shift, with many morning commuters now confronted with darkness.
...
But there are some rumblings of change. This year, Idaho is pushing to scrap DST altogether. And, as is the norm in the often curious state of Florida, lawmakers have proposed to swing even further in the other direction, with a bill dubbed the “Sunshine Protection Act” looking to put the entire state on permanent DST year round in hopes of increasing tourism.
And just last year, a failed White House petition brought up the issue of ending DST.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
I get up to go to work at 4am so the time change now means that to my body that it will feel like 3am next Monday morning. I hate changing the clocks.
My dogs are opposed to the time change in the fall when time falls back and it gets dark earlier.
They start raising hell when it gets dark and they have not been fed.
I always try to put the problem in perspective ... will anyone die because of my decision, one way or the other? I doubt it, so suck it up as there are far worse problems out there!
You betcha.
Makes no sense. It is like cutting a foot off of one end of a blanket and sewing it on the other end and claiming you now have a seven foot blanket.
In this case, yes. DST causes a rise in the number of morning car crashes. People die in car crashes. DST causes people to die.
Leave the clock alone
The spring and fall bitching is regular as the calender.
Bitch forward in the spring. Bitch back in the fall.
Pick a time and stick with it year round. No daylight is saved. It has no effect on the amount of sunlight that shines on the Earth for any particular part of the year; that’s celestial mechanics.
It’s a con, smoke and mirrors.
I love daylight savings time. It’s wonderful to have that extra hour to do things outside after work or school during the summer months.
Me too, I don't understand all the whining about it. What's not to like? An extra hour to mow the lawn, go for a run, do some yard-work, go fishing... I guess the complainers have all the time in the world to do that stuff.
All these people bitching....it’s an hour...you get over it in three days....
Yeah, that really nails it for me! I'm convinced!
Geez, just stay up another hour later and DVR The Tonight Show!
China tried DST.
Chinese people tend to be pretty smart.
China dumped DST.
q.e.d.
Logic for D.S.T. and exempting buses from providing safety belts is unconvincing.
You’re joking, right?
Bingo!
Sheesh...don’t you guys ever hop on a plane and fly 1, 2 or 3 time zones away? It’s no different than DST. Maybe it’s time for your cocoa and onesies.
That’s right...its spring ahead...I lose an hour of sleep...Monday morning I will roll over look at the clock and moan and say, ..oh carp...I hate DST.
China is all in one very wide time zone. If they did DST, the Western Provinces would see sundowns at 2-3 AM. It's pretty late even without the DST. AZ doesn't like DST for the same reason (but it's less ridiculous than China). Sundown at 10 PM? Who needs that when it's 110 degrees? We *like* the nighttime.
LOL...really!
I don’t know why Texas does it. You’d think during the long hot summer everybody would want the sun to go down sooner.
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