According to CNN, the House and the Senate have agreed to include an extension of Daylight Savings Time in the proposed energy bill on the table. DST would start three weeks early, in March, and end one week later, in November. The reasoning behind the extension is to conserve energy. Others have brought up unknown, negative ripple effects like confused cows and bizarre international flights.
I have no idea if extending DST would conserve energy. Personally, I would like the extension of what is basically just a social construct as to what time it is when the sun is at a certain angle. As a female runner, I am very conscious of sunset and sunrise. I don't run as much as I used to, but for many years, my running schedule was dictated by the time of sunset. Even though the track where I ran was lighted, conventional wisdom told me that women should not run alone in the dark in a big city for safety reasons. In the winter months, I could not wait to run until after I finished work at the law firm because it would be too dark. I would leave, run at 6, then go back to the firm. I counted the days until daylight savings time.
So, I'm wondering if in contemplating a change in DST anyone has mentioned safety. Could increased nighttime sunlight decrease crime?
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345157d569e200d8344e688753ef
Links to weblogs that reference Daylight Savings Time:
1. Posted by ND on July 22, 2005 @ 9:32 | Permalink
One article suggests that decreased morning sunlight will lead to more kids going to school in the dark. This, in turn, poses its own safety risks.
2. Posted by Karen on July 22, 2005 @ 14:41 | Permalink
Sheesh and they JUST got the all folks in Indiana to convert to Day Light Savings Times in the first instance. May not confuse half as many cows as foolish people from Indiana who were difficult about the concept in the first place.
3. Posted by ghamer on July 22, 2005 @ 17:13 | Permalink
Being on the western edge of the eastern time zone, Indiana was effectively doing daylight savings time all year round. Now they are pulling double duty in the summer.
4. Posted by Peter on July 23, 2005 @ 10:22 | Permalink
For evidence that sleep disruptions caused by changing to and from daylight savings affects stock prices, see e.g., Mark Jack Kamstra, Lisa A. Kramer, & Maurice D. Levi, Losing Sleep at the Market: The Daylight Savings Anomaly, 90 Am. Econ. Rev. 1005 (2000).
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
