Daylight Saving Time: A Different Kind of Chrono Poll

[Lord J Esq]

Today, is the first day of Daylight Saving Time in most of the US and many other places. As a freethinker and a lover of beauty, I very much favor daylight time and look forward to it during the winter months. I have a romantic appreciation for late sunsets, owing to my personal aesthetics of the universe. Likewise, I have a sense of adventure with late sunrises, which hearkens back to my days as a kid when our family vacation in the summer would begin before dawn. Simply put, I love daylight time and I wish it were kept year-round. Or better!

Now I learn that the UK is considering whether or not to impose a “double daylight” system—wherein daylight time is still used but the clock is permanently set one hour ahead. This, compared to a place with no daylight time, and accounting for time zone differences, the UK would be one hour ahead in the winter, and two hours in the summer.

I like this idea very much! I was a big supporter of the change in 2007 to extend it by one month, and every year I live in a secret fear that our government will decide to reduce or repeal daylight time. The thought of going even farther than making daylight saving time permanent tantalizes and arouses me. Surely if any country is wise enough to adopt such a policy, the UK could be that country. But, back here in America, if anyone could pull it off, it would be Barack Obama, so I am hopeful.

I don't care much about the traditional arguments in favor of daylight time. I support it for the reasons I listed above. But I also don't care what logic a government uses to justify daylight time. If they want to talk about saving oil, then they can go right ahead. I'm all for conserving energy. ^_^

[teaflower]

I personally love the way the system is now in the US. I'm usually out the door at 6:15 in the morning for school and have seen some of the most beautiful sunrises ever in my opinion. Due to the layout of my house, though, I really can't see the sunset much anymore.

Plus, the sudden change is exciting to me.

However, I think I hit the wrong voting option. Oh, well.

[Acacia Sgt]

It's today for the US? And I was wondering why the compendium hour was 5 hours different instead of the usual 4. Here in Mexico we change the hour in April.

Now, I don't know what to choose. I have never complained the way it is now, but it's because I have never cared that much before. I'm fine the way it is, but if there is a way to make it better and it's applied, then I would be fine with the change.

[HyperNerd]

I totally agree with you, Lord J. I love Daylight savings time, even though the first day is initially rocky, I love how on my birthday the sun doesn't set until around 7 or 8. It's so awesome.

[BROJ]

Bah! Aesthetics aside, I absolutely abhor the gimcrack that is the US's current DST. 

It doesn't save energy -- that is simply wrong as a recent study found -- it actually costs a quite a bit more. While intuitively, one would think it would save energy due to faux light not being needed, it brings up another problem. Our tradeoff for using less light is using more heating and cooling services, which notably, cost quite a bit more than lighting.

Also, an article talks of how it is also harmful to agriculture to have an irregular DST, as farmers do not get enough time during DST to tend to their crops before the mourning dew dries. The article also covers people's complaints about how an irregular DST is harmful to small childrens' sleep habits -- keeping them up to late hours and waking them up too early because the sun has woke them up leaving them sleep deprived and thus, crabby. I know this to be true from personal experience.

And it isn't good for our health either, as it increases our susceptibility to stress quite a bit by losing an hour of sleep and distorting our biorhythms. Another study shows that it negatively affects heart attack rates especially during spring/summer DST.

So, if anything, the most important thing is to pick a year-round constant DST to stabilize costs, benefit agriculture, reduce parental/caretaker stress and reduce health risks. I don't really mind what time is picked specifically, just inasmuch as it is stable and reasonable.

[mav]

Bah! Aesthetics aside, I absolutely abhor the gimcrack that is the US's current DST. 

It doesn't save energy -- that is simply wrong as a recent study found -- it actually costs a quite a bit more. While intuitively, one would think it would save energy due to faux light not being needed, it brings up another problem. Our tradeoff for using less light is using more heating and cooling services, which notably, cost quite a bit more than lighting.

Also, an article talks of how it is also harmful to agriculture to have an irregular DST, as farmers do not get enough time during DST to tend to their crops before the mourning dew dries. The article also covers people's complaints about how an irregular DST is harmful to small childrens' sleep habits -- keeping them up to late hours and waking them up too early because the sun has woke them up leaving them sleep deprived and thus, crabby. I know this to be true from personal experience.

And it isn't good for our health either, as it increases our susceptibility to stress quite a bit by losing an hour of sleep and distorting our biorhythms. Another study shows that it negatively affects heart attack rates especially during spring/summer DST.

So, if anything, the most important thing is to pick a year-round constant DST to stabilize costs, benefit agriculture, reduce parental/caretaker stress and reduce health risks. I don't really mind what time is picked specifically, just inasmuch as it is stable and reasonable.

I'm just gonna go ahead and not say anything else, since BROJ's post pretty much summed up whatever I'd have said.

[placidchap]

I like the extra hour of sleep we get in the fall and I hate the extra hour of sleep we lose in the spring, it all works out in the end I guess.  But I don't think it is necessary and I wouldn't cry if it no longer was observed (I voted abolish, not because I hate it but b/c it is unnecessary).  I know some places don't follow DST, Saskatchewan being the only one to come to mind without wikipedia.

[Kage]

As long as I don't have any early morning activities the day following the spring forward change. Then I am fine with it. Somehow every year I managed to find something to need to be up at 8am or earlier for that morning. >_<

[MagilsugaM]

Hate it! It takes one hour of my sleep time when they put it. XD
  Lucky they take it out so I win one hour later XD