I hate Daylight Savings. It is unnatural. I was rather upset when I found out that not only are we now starting three weeks earlier, we'll be ending one week later. That's an extra month! There is an article from BBC news extolling the virtues of moving the clocks ahead. Something about less electricity usage, less crime, fewer traffic fatalities, and various other 'good things.'
About the lessening of electricity usage, I'm wondering just how much it really saves. It seems that the only difference would be in homes that won't turn on their overhead lights until it gets dark. Meaning only those homes that have good enough windows to get decent natural light and have people who don't habitually keep the lights on. Otherwise, people still use their TVs, computers, dishwashers, refigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, irons, hair dryers, hot water heaters, ovens, stoves, microwaves and toasters just as often whether it's dark or not.
As far as crime, I don't think criminals care what time it is. Daylight naturally increases as we approach the Summer Solstice leading to less 'cover of night' crime anyway. We don't magically have any more daylight with Daylight 'Savings.'
The article actually says "Ultimately, daylight saving just brings a smile to everybody's faces." Not mine. I now have to drive to work in the dark. This is a real problem for me as I've got terrible night blindness and avoid driving in the dark at all costs. It's just not safe (especially for the other drivers since I can't tell where they are.) So as far as fewer traffic fatalities, I guess they only mean on the drive home. At least with the older version time change, the sun would already be rising early enough for me to be able to see.
I just don't appreciate being 'out of sync' with what the Earth is actually doing. The sun should be directly overhead at noon, not 1:00. So it seems that for the next 9 months, I will be getting up, going to work, coming home, and going to bed all an hour early. You may have noted that I didn't say watch my TV shows - we have TiVo :)
Maybe I just need to move to Arizona.
About Me
- Moderatrix8
- It seems that I am a paradox. I view myself as staid, stoic, and rather stodgy. Others apparently view me as eclectic, eccentric, and unpredictable. My favorite color is purple, I don't know if that says anything. Everyone seems to agree that I'm honest. If you want to know if those pants make you look fat, I'm your girl. But I will try to be diplomatic and not hurt your feelings. I enjoy pop culture including pop music, celebrity watching, and reality TV, but I still enjoy the punk rock and British sci-fi and comedy that I got hooked on as a teen. I subscribe to natural healing practices, but not to the exclusion of good science and sound medical advice. I will concede that I am pretty open-minded about most things. My religious and spiritual beliefs are almost always up for revision. I'm constantly looking for new ways to explain old things. One thing I'm not is an elitist. I guess that comes from open-mindedness. I don't think my beliefs are better than yours, and I will argue with anyone for your right to believe what you want to believe. Oh, and I read a lot.
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2 comments:
Hello there.
I too detest DST, even if I do not suffer from "night blindness." As a definite 'night owl', I find it hard to have to get up an hour earlier every morning while DST is in effect. Worse, people are sleepier when they have to drive to work an hour earlier; at least one researcher proved that the number of traffic accidents goes up every spring for a week after the DST change is applied.
For more on this, you may peruse a Live-Journal article I wrote.
I hope that helps.
I have started a blog on the subject of getting rid of this monster:
No More DST
In just a few more weeks I can still see the scenario of a doctor being registered as controlling the birth of two children both being born at 2:33 AM. How can this be you ask? Go to the blog and you will eventually find that answer if you do not know it already. I am taking a side excursion into calendar systems since they are related.
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