It's a Marvelous Morning(?) For a Moondance

I woke up this morning to darkness, as I will wake up tomorrow morning to darkness, and the next day and the day after that. Each morning during the work week for the next several weeks it'll be dark. This morning I looked towards the sky through my closet window and could clearly see the moon. Ah, the wonders of "Daylight Savings Time." The time of year where we 'spring' (winter?) forward to gain a manipulated hour of sunlight.

It is apocryphal that Benjamin Franklin is the father of the concept behind Daylight Savings Time (DST), however when the man most famous for flying a kite in a lightning storm (also probably apocryphal) wrote of shifiting the clock, it was a satire. (He talked about conservation of candlewax and taxing shutter makers). Aux auteurs du Journal" (in French). Journal de Paris (117)

DST was not instituted for the first time in the United States until 1918. It was repealed a year later and did not return until 1966. During the 1970's, during an energy crisis, it was proposed to institute DST year round, and in fact, in 1973 it was. However it soon became apparent that there was no benefit to dark winter mornings where the sun would sometimes, not appear, depending on the time of year till 9:00 A.M. or later.


Tomorrow sunrise in New York City is 7:17 A.M. Buses in school districts all across the region are already on route at that time. Many kids are waiting at bus stops in the dark, others are walking to school in the dark. Without the benefit of daylight, accidents are inevitable, as are criminal opportunities.

While the safety issue has always been of subordinate concern (although I'm not sure why that is or should be) to the goal of conservation, it is fanciful to believe that significant energy savings are occurring while it is still winter. While there is certainly a diminished need for electricity and fuel during daylight hours, in geographic locations where there are cool temperatures and people are waking up in the dark, the conservatory effects of DST are negated. Most people need to see and most people don't like to freeze.

While its dark, the morning commute begins. Headlights must be illuminated. In our cities and suburbs congestion is already forming. It's safe to assume that most people wake up at least 30 minutes before they start their commute. So as people are waking at 6 or 6:30, a time when a week ago there would have been natural sunlight (and will be again in about a month) , people are using more electricity and perhaps turning up the heat, in order to get out of bed and getting prepared for their day.

Energy saver? More like energy shifter. The energy that might have been consumed in the evening is now delayed an hour, but it is certainly used in the morning, in abundance. In fact a California study confirmed that Daylight Savings Time as currently implemented does not have a noticeable effect on conservation. Adrienne Kandel; Margaret Sheridan (2007-05-25) (PDF). The effect of early daylight saving time on California electricity consumption: a statistical analysis. CEC-200-2007-004. California Energy Commission. http://energy.ca.gov/2007publications/CEC-200-2007-004/CEC-200-2007-004.PDF. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.

Even Congress can't seem to ever make up its mind: First the clock shift in 1918, again in 1966. Then full year DST in 1973, followed by a return to 6 months and 6 moths in 1974. It stayed that way till 1987 when DST was extended from the end of April to the beginning and lasting until the end of October. In 2007 it was extended again. DST currently goes from the 2nd Sunday in March till the first Sunday in November. The time shift in 2007 wasn't even extensively debated. It was passed as a minor provision in a comprehensive piece of legislation. The Energy Policy Act of 2005. How can you debate policy when its titled 'Energy Reform'? Who wants to be labeled as anti-conservationist? Incidentally, the original draft was set to extend DST in 2007 all the way till Thanksgiving which would have plunged us back into darkness until mid-morning thoroughout November mornings.

As it stands now DST is the time for 8 months out of the year. In fact, perhaps the DST should be considered the new standard. How can a time be 'standard' when it is only used for 4 months?

Look, I love long days and early evening summer daylight as much as anyone and I love the idea of saving and conserving energy. DST certainly has its time. I just cannot believe that its goals are achieved when the thermometer is still barely cracking freezing and even the roosters haven't signaled the sunrise. I wouldn't mind sleeping an extra hour in the dark and if it means that it's unpleasant to go outside when I come home in the frigid evening, I'm willing to make the sacrifice... it would be a sacrifice that only would need to be extended for a few more weeks when it will be warmer anyway.