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The nicest thing you can say about Daylight Savings these days is that it's a national way to coordinate seasonal schedule changes: not for environmental/energy
by fennecfoxen 15y ago
The nicest thing you can say about Daylight Savings these days is that it's a national way to coordinate seasonal schedule changes: not for environmental/energy reasons (the numbers don't support it) but to place additional daylight where people are using it (the evenings after work).
If people like Daylight Savings Time better than not, the real solution should just be to change normal work hours from "9 to 5" to "8 to 4". But that would be difficult to pull off as a culture without guidance, and the idea makes way too much sense for Congress to pull off. So we'll muddle along. At least we have the technology now that work schedules are likely going to be more flexible in the future, instead of less flexible.
If you ask me, though, we should just declare Daylight Savings permanent, then add another layer on top of it every year, until the entire country is using GMT. :)
- seanalltogether 15y agoYeah I never understand why people argue for permanent DST so it can be lighter in the evening all year round. Is it because we're all stuck in the mindset that work has to be from 9 to 5, and your favorite show has to come on at 8pm?
- georgieporgie 15y agoAbsolutely. And who gets up at 4am? It puzzled me that it was dark in Tokyo by about 8pm in the summer, until I realized that the sun rises at a ridiculously early hour there. Great for fishmongers, not so great for modern business workers.
- jdthomas 15y agoYes! I also noticed this in Tokyo, I think they are just in the wrong timezone altogether. :)
- InclinedPlane 15y agoNot just work. Store and restaurant hours. Movie times. TV schedules. UPS pick up times. Everything. If everyone has to shift their schedules earlier you might as well just change the time, that way you save people from having to scrape off and repaint their store hours on their glass front doors.
- fanf2 15y agoThat was always the reason for DST. Anyone who wants an informed opinion about DST should read David Prerau's book "sieze the daylight" / "saving the daylight" (its US and UK publishers gave it different titles). http://www.seizethedaylight.com/ http://www.seizethedaylight.com/ http://www.savingthedaylight.com/ http://www.savingthedaylight.com/