22 Nov 2008
Eliminate DST Nationwide

Backwards ClockI mentioned this study back when it was released, but the authors now have an op-ed in the Grey Lady using it as a basis for recommending elimination of daylight savings time nationwide. Why?

"Daylight time costs Indiana households an average of $3.29 a year in higher electricity bills, or about $9 million for the whole state. We also calculated the health and other social costs of increased pollution emissions at $1.7 million to $5.5 million per year."

Note to Obama: wanna save energy? You know what to do!

Why do we — along with 75 other countries — alternate between standard time and daylight time? Although many people believe it has an agricultural provenance, daylight time has always been a policy meant to save energy. As Benjamin Franklin argued, if people moved up their summer schedules by an hour, they could live by “sunshine rather than candles” in the evenings.

(link) [New York Times]

09:24 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link