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Liberty and Justice for All

2007-03-10

Daylight Savings Time: Energy Saver or Energy Suck?

Thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, we prepare for the launch of daylight savings time tonight, one month earlier than usual. The explanations for the time change are that it saves energy - the later it gets dark the less electricity we use.

I, for one, fail to see how switching the use of electricity from evening to morning will significantly reduce energy usage.

The co-author of the extension, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., says it was added it to the energy bill because it would conserve electricity, citing a 1970s Department of Transportation study that says it would save approximately 100,000 barrels of oil daily - a mere 1% purported savings - from a study done some 30 years ago!

Linda Lawson, an agency official, said in 2001: "There have been dramatic changes in lifestyle and commerce since we completed our studies that raise serious questions about extrapolating conclusions from our studies into today's world."

Indeed, it seems that the measure actually wastes more energy than it conserves. Many working Americans are likely to get in their cars and drive to the lake or go shopping while the sun is
still shining, increasing energy consumption.

Ask yourself who really benefits from this plan. I'm inclined to believe that daylight savings time is and always has been, a way to increase consumer spending, and increase sales for retailers, recreational businesses, and energy monopolies.

Am I the only one who's noticed the media reporting an expected increase in gasoline sales the very day before this switch to DST?

The disruption to our sleep habits, the confusion and expense to travelers, kids going to school in the dark, and lost productivity from sleep-deprived workers are just a few of the effects of a system that gains the American consumer little and expunges even more from already heavily burdened pockets.

Was the “energy savings” ever a real concern for the government or just a way to sell it to the American people?

Gina Weiss
Real Money

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