daylight savings time, useful or a bad idea?

[panthera]

Any thoughts? Seems to me that every year we read stats. from farmers and the police showing enormous damage and loss, teachers complain that students' scores dive for a while...

Just doesn't make any sense to me. Anybody know of any valid reasons for this silly time shift?

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have heard two schools of thought.
1. As the days get longer the time shift was necessary to balance the daylight hours. This allowed people to enjoy the daylight after work so they could work in the yard, have cook outs, visit parks.

2. Commerce--With longer daylight hours people bought more recreation equipment, and spent more money on out door activities.

I kind of lean towards a blend of both.
BTW--I hate the time shift, I think it's the work of the devil.

 

[hydralique]

I love daylight savings time . . .

it's just depressing to have every evening be dark from five or six o'clock. It also means many people must drive home in the dark, making their commutes less safe.

Thankfully I don't have a set schedule these days, but I still recall my very first job out of college. I spent every day in a cubicle far from any window. In the winter I'd arrive just as it became light, and then leave at dusk. Unless I went out for lunch I never saw the sun on weekdays.

Besides extra safety in communting, daylight savings time also saves energy in the spring and fall because people don't need as much artificial light and heat when they come home at the end of their day.

 

[thomasortega]

Our DST (or summer time as it's called here in Brazil) works great.

During the summer, it's so hot that we usually can't sleep so late, we normaly wake up sweating 1 or 2 hours before our usual time and the first thing we want is a huge glass of cold water and a cold shower so, it doesn´t make many difference.
We can save lots of energy because we use the lights up to 4 hours less than during the winter and we also have more time to do other things.

The student's scores are not directly related to the DST, but to the hot weather, that makes everybody wake up tired or lazy.

Last week we had 56 degrees Celsius and in some regions in my city the streets started to melt.

Two weks ago I went to an ice cream shop with John and he almost fainted when he saw a thermometer. Inside the store, with a super A/C running at max power, the temperature was 90 degrees F.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Daylight savings is good. The problem is its been set back way too early as of last year. It was nice and light out on my drive to work in the mornings, now its been set back to where the sunrise time is back to where it was at December 21st at the winter solstice! This is not safe to have the sunrise so late and we now have it for two periods during the year. Its much safer in the morning to drive to work in the sunlight. It was much better when we set the clocks ahead in April, it should not be done in March.

 

[countryguy]

I've heard that DST originated to help out the farming community so that they would have more hours of daylight to work out in the fields during the summer.

Gary

 

[bobbyderegis]

I liked setting the clocks back in October (which was later), but setting them ahead in March is for the birds. Who needs an extra hour of light in the evening when it's still freezing outside? It's not like anyone will be on the golf course.
Bobby in Boston

 

[fltcoils]

Now guess the automatic washer link to DST???

Whirlpool.

You see, the House rep who sponsored the bill to start DST earlier was Fred Upton. Son of the Upton's who own Whirlpool in Benton Harbor Mi.

sigh.

In SW Mich, and now North Central Indiana, we are forced to be on NY DST time. Unbelieveable considering we're 1 hour west of you. During DST here the sun is due south at 1:55 pm instead of noon.

So imagine living with !!DOUBLE!! dailight savings time.!!!

DST is horrible for kids. It keeps them up 'till 10:30 or 11 in late may/june, and in december (that's single DST time here) it's pitch black standing in unplowed streets waiting for the school bus (buses in city for some GKW court ordered reason)

Anyone wonder about my position on DST?

DST uses MORE energy, and only serves to help rec industry (golfing etc.) and retail. It does NOT help families IMHO.

Dang, If you want to get out from work earlier, then goto work at 7, and leave the rest of our clocks alone.

 

[autowasherfreak]

It helps with my depression to have longer days.

 

[xraytech]

I personally like the shorter days through the winter, wish it could stay that way all year. Though this year I was midnight Sunday so I only had to deal with the nuts in the ED for 7 hours and got paid for 8.

Sam

 

[bajaespuma]

I love Daylight Savings Time.

Does anyone remember the year back in Gerald Ford's administration when they let us stay on DST for the whole year? I loved it and wish they'd just keep us on DST.

 

[hydralique]

Me too!

And then let us have double DST in the summer. I don't mind getting up when it's dark, but it's just depressing to have it dark at five or six in the evening.

 

[jeffg]

I agree with Bobby and Robert. Millions of kids are sent off to school in pitch dark and bitter cold this time of year. It's stupid and dangerous.

 

[fltcoils]

All year DST

I was on year round DST since the '60s. But now the state govt has decided we should go double DST in the summer, single in the winter.

Soon they'll declaire a 1 hour advance every month until june21st.

Enough is enough.

It hurts the kids. So to me as a kids parent, double daylight savings time is harmful.

I never understood why those who crave the extra daylight in the evening don't simply get up earlier (and leave the rest of us alone). For pity sake, why can't bankers work from 7 to 3 (instead of 9 to 6) if they want those golf games?

 

[moonvalleycacti]

Arizona

Arizona doesnt have DST.... We are NOW 3 hours (like california) behind the east.. When DST rolls around we will be 2 hours behind the east...

Mind you, i like not having it now.. Not fooling with changing clocks and crap around my house...

So i wonder why bother?? Just another gov't gimmick imho

 

[fltcoils]

High Noon

Yes, just keep the sun at high noon, at noon (except for the analemma).

 

[alr2903]

compromise on 30 minutes back and leave it that way forever, settin all those clocks all the #%mn time costs money.

 

[mattl]

I don't mind it, but agree it starts too early. April was a fine start date, but November is a better end date.

I love it in the summer. Here in Mid Michigan we are close to the western edge of the time zone, and at it's best twilight is 10:30ish, not rare to see some light in the western sky at 11PM.

I actually like the shorter days in Dec, here sun sets at just about 5 PM on the shortest days. For me it make me want to hunker down and enjoy the holidays. Perhaps I'm more aware of sunset timing since I have a number of my lights controlled via X10 on my computer and they are set to come on at exactly sunset. I't amazing how much daylight we gain in Jan.

 

[sudsmaster]

I like DST. I work mostly indoors, so it doesn't make much difference to me if it's dark in the morning when I leave for work. But when I come home I have an extra hour to work on the garden/lawn/vehicles in driveway.

Plus, in most of California, the sunrises are not nearly as spectacular as the sunsets.