Saving daylight to save…what are we trying to save?

In 2005, President Bush signed into law an energy bill from the Energy Policy Act to extend daylight savings time by four weeks, starting this year. The new schedule kicked in on March 11, and will extend past October into the first weekend of November.

The extension is supposed to save close to 100,000 barrels of oil per day by reducing household energy use. It will “give” us more sunlight later into the day so that we use less electricity. That estimate stems from a Department of the Treasury study done during the 1970’s oil embargo. In other words, it is hardly relevant to our lifestyle today.

Arizona, my home state, doesn’t observe daylight savings time (DST), so I’ve never had to deal with it except when traveling–and that’s no small feat. Airlines, apparently, argue that this shift in DST will cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in missed flights and disjointed connection times, particularly with European travel.

I don’t think anyone wants to argue for airlines to make more money, but it isn’t a stretch to imagine some of that loss trickling down to the consumer. Who knows? Maybe they’ll shrink their seats to get more of us on each flight, or start renting out the pillows and blankets for a fee. Then, if we haven’t missed our flight because our e-tickets didn’t adjust to the new hour, we’ll hopefully get bumped to a later departure time because the gate is full of passengers who missed their connection. But it’ll be sunny.

There have also been concerns that daylight savings time increases the danger for children traveling to school while it’s still dark in the morning. Most clocks, computers and other gadgets automatically adjust to DST, and will need to be reprogrammed. There is the risk that auto accidents and work productivity will be affected because of weary drivers and workers still adjusting to the new schedule. And while the government sells us the extension as a way to save energy, there has also been the argument that businesses will stay open later, allowing us more time to spend money, drive around for activities before the sun goes down, pollute, fall sick from fatigue and disjointed sleeping schedules, miss work, etc.

But most of these are only possible outcomes, and with a bit of proactive spirit on our part, we can take advantage of longer days.

Proponents of the extension, again, claim we’ll be saving energy. With the possibility of increased car trips and activities after work, it’s hard to say. We may not be turning our lights on until later, but that’s only because we’re out running errands during twilight or getting some last minute shopping done, burning more gas and spending more money, I guess. I don’t really know anyone who doesn’t have headlights on the car and can’t drive after sunset, or, for that matter, who is afraid to shop in the dark.

It’s hard to believe that an extra hour or so of light is going to make anyone rush out to their car and hit the nearest shopping mall, but apparently it’s a possibility. We can also wait a bit longer before turning the energy wasting lights on at sporting events, and golf courses and theme parks can stay open a bit later. Again, I don’t know anyone who plays a lot of golf after work during the week, or, likewise, who goes to a theme park… ever… but they’ll be open later if you want to.

Regardless, DST has always been debated. In 1919, it was repealed in the United States because of its unpopularity and not reinstated until 1942, at the onset of WWII, in order to conserve resources. The U.S. Federal Time Act was passed in 1966, and adjusted again by President Reagan in 1986. And now our president has adjusted it again.

Originally, of course, it was pitched by Ben Franklin, in a letter to the editor of The Journal of Paris, whose penultimate line included a statement about citizens, who, “from the many heavy taxes required from them by the necessities of the state, have surely an abundance reason to be economical.” Here, here, comrade. But in this day and age, it’s getting harder and harder to save anything, much less sunshine.