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I read blurb today about America's use of daylight savings time. It started after WWI as a way to conserve electricity but a lot of people have wondered if it is far too confusing in this age of telecommuting and international time zone differences. Some people were in favour of discontinuing it because of business, agricultural, and even religious reasons. For example, one woman doesn't like that her children have to wait for the school bus in the dark after the change. A farmer has trouble with milking the cows and feeding the chickens at different times after the change for a few weeks. Another man wants to see standardized national time to make travel easier for business.
On the other side of the coin, many people support it as an energy saving device. Apparently, our country uses 1% less energy annually (about $5 for each citizen). To me, it seemed like the proponents of DST were not as articulate. One man said he "like[d] having more daylight hours", and a woman said, "We need the daylight in the summer, when it's nice out." As I understand it, the length of the day increases and decreases seasonally regardless of how we set our clocks. We still have the exact same amount of daylight whether our clocks read 6pm or 7pm. It is our amount of perceived time available that is at stake. If we leave work at 4 and must be in bed by 10, we have 6 hours of personal time. The difference is whether we spend 4 or 5 of those hours in sunlight. Some people value the end of the day so much they are apparently proponents of changing our clocks permanently to DST so we have more evening hours in daylight all year.
So, I sit here and I wonder about this. Personally, I’d like to see the time standardized. It is far less confusing. While traveling, I jumped time zones in Arizona once on DST day. I accidentally turned my watch in the wrong direction and I was two hours off for two days before I realized it. I thought everything seemed to be closing awfully early in that part of the country. *blush* On the other hand, I really enjoy experiencing that “immediate” boost in the evening daylight hours. I look forward to pushing the clock ahead in spring and am saddened by pulling it back in autumn. I guess, as a bicycle commuter, I take the daylight hours very seriously. If I leave and return home from work during all daylight hours, it takes a good 3 pounds of safety equipment out of my bike bag and makes for an easier commute. When I had to be at work by 6:45am, there weren’t but a handful of days I rode to work in daylight regardless. But it sure was nice to have more errand time and outdoor playtime after work.
I guess I’m on the fence. I see both sides of the argument. I suppose my vote would probably go toward not changing the clock at all. Find one time and stick with it. The change messes up a lot of cycles. The length of our day changes a few minutes at a time all year long and to suddenly expect people to adjust to instant change is asking a lot. I think I’m edging toward DST all year, simply because I like the evening light and I enjoy waking with the sun rather than after it. But that’s just me, and I am the only true day person in a house of nocturnal activity.
On the other side of the coin, many people support it as an energy saving device. Apparently, our country uses 1% less energy annually (about $5 for each citizen). To me, it seemed like the proponents of DST were not as articulate. One man said he "like[d] having more daylight hours", and a woman said, "We need the daylight in the summer, when it's nice out." As I understand it, the length of the day increases and decreases seasonally regardless of how we set our clocks. We still have the exact same amount of daylight whether our clocks read 6pm or 7pm. It is our amount of perceived time available that is at stake. If we leave work at 4 and must be in bed by 10, we have 6 hours of personal time. The difference is whether we spend 4 or 5 of those hours in sunlight. Some people value the end of the day so much they are apparently proponents of changing our clocks permanently to DST so we have more evening hours in daylight all year.
So, I sit here and I wonder about this. Personally, I’d like to see the time standardized. It is far less confusing. While traveling, I jumped time zones in Arizona once on DST day. I accidentally turned my watch in the wrong direction and I was two hours off for two days before I realized it. I thought everything seemed to be closing awfully early in that part of the country. *blush* On the other hand, I really enjoy experiencing that “immediate” boost in the evening daylight hours. I look forward to pushing the clock ahead in spring and am saddened by pulling it back in autumn. I guess, as a bicycle commuter, I take the daylight hours very seriously. If I leave and return home from work during all daylight hours, it takes a good 3 pounds of safety equipment out of my bike bag and makes for an easier commute. When I had to be at work by 6:45am, there weren’t but a handful of days I rode to work in daylight regardless. But it sure was nice to have more errand time and outdoor playtime after work.
I guess I’m on the fence. I see both sides of the argument. I suppose my vote would probably go toward not changing the clock at all. Find one time and stick with it. The change messes up a lot of cycles. The length of our day changes a few minutes at a time all year long and to suddenly expect people to adjust to instant change is asking a lot. I think I’m edging toward DST all year, simply because I like the evening light and I enjoy waking with the sun rather than after it. But that’s just me, and I am the only true day person in a house of nocturnal activity.
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From:
still 24 hours no mater how you look at it
there is only 24 hours to this day so do what i must if you cant get it done carry on to the next day laters...
From:
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But it is better to utilize as much daylight as possible. So what you do is this: get government and business to agree on a set of "Standard Business Hours" (or "Banker's Hours"). Standard Business Hours would be set an hour back in the Spring, and back to normal in the Fall.
You wouldn't have to change your clocks at all. You'd still want reminders that most business hours are changing ("Remember, folks, most places open and close an hour earlier starting tomorrow, so if you're going to the bank, get there early"). I suspect that if you can get the banks to open earlier for half the year, then other business will follow suit.
Then again, I halfway-seriously believe that we should abolish local time completely in favor of Greenwich Mean Time. It's the only thing that makes sense once you start colonizing space. :)
Pjack
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The energy savings is significant. We need all we can get. Supposedly it's good for restaurants, though bad for some other businesses.
If we have to have standardized time, I think it works pretty well. It's the standardized schedule that bugs me. Personally, I'd be for changing business hours to be more seasonal - fewer in the winter when you want to sleep more; in the summer, maybe have the business day start quite early and end early. Ok, so it would be tough for non-morning people like myself, but it fit better with most people's internal clocks.
We are, btw, a good 15 minutes one way of the other off true solar time already because of the difference between our longitude and that of the time zone. Just so's you know.