Friday, March 01, 2013

Daylight Saving Time is a Myth





This is the core of a letter I just wrote to my congressman, Rep. Michael McCaul:

Next weekend we will begin the arduous, disruptive task of switching from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time.
What would it take to end this madness?

I consider Daylight Saving Time an imposition and extreme disruption, especially for we who provide early morning functions in the economy.

I awake at 2:30am to go to work.
Next Monday (March 11), I will be arising at an effective time of 1:30am.
I can't begin to describe how difficult that becomes as each year passes.
Why can't we just leave the time set, one way or the other?

The concept of "saving" daylight is a myth, and, ironically, an expensive waste of time.
Dr. Mark Perry's rather tortured explanation of the negative economic impact of changing clocks each year is but the tip of the iceberg.

A Rasmussen Poll last year revealed 45% of Americans think the switch to DST is worth the hassle, but 40% do not. 15% weren't sufficiently awake to answer the question.

Reputable economists at Yale and the University of Michigan have concluded that DST actually costs the country $9-billion MORE in energy costs.

I could stack countless examples proving Daylight Saving Time is more trouble than it's worth. Contrary to its name, DST saves nothing, and actually costs us to implement.

It's time to end DST
There is a very intelligent, credible solution being proposed by some folks at Standard Time.com. I am signing the petition, and would encourage you to do so, as well.

Congress has been flailing about for months, looking for ways to improve the economy.
This is a pretty simple, straightforward fix.
May I respectfully submit that the United States do away with this mythical practice of “adjusting the clock” twice a year?

At the very least, leave the time set one way or the other, year round, and stop the disruption of lives and biorhythms we must endure twice a year. This would seem to be an easy, no-nonsense way to recoup billions in lost productivity in the economy.
I’m serious.