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Time To Ditch Daylight Saving Time ‐ It's A Killer That Doesn't Save Energy
[Investors.com] Sunday, March 11, is the start of daylight saving time across the country. But it might be the last time people in Florida have to switch their clocks.The legislature there voted overwhelmingly to abolish the biannual changing of the clock, and stick with daylight saving time year round. Last year, Massachusetts considered a similar move by switching to Atlantic Standard Time, which would permanently set their clocks ahead one hour. Maine also passed bills to ditch daylight saving time. Arizona and Hawaii don't abide by daylight saving time. The problem Florida faces is that while the law lets states opt out of daylight saving time, they can't opt out of standard time. So, Congress would have to amend the law. The European Union, meanwhile, is studying whether switching their clocks back and forth each year is worth it. The answer is, it isn't. The main reason for imposing daylight saving time has always been that it "saved" energy, since it would stay light an hour longer in the evening. The U.S. extended daylight saving time in 2007, as part of President Bush's woefully misguided energy bill ‐ which also banned traditional incandescent light bulbs ‐ specifically because it was supposed to cut the nation's energy consumption. At the time, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey said it would save consumers $4.4 billion over 15 years. But research shows this is simply not the case. In fact, it's just as likely that daylight saving time costs energy. Posted by: JohnQC 2018-03-10 |
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