Sunday means start of harmful Daylight Savings Time
About Michael John ScottMr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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Daylight Savings Time (DST), starts at 2AM this coming Sunday and I hate it. It makes for interminable days and an air conditioner that has to run an hour longer. I don’t want to see the sun 16 hours a day. I want it to be dark at 7PM in the summer and 6PM in the winter. That’s the way it should be. The reasons for DST no longer exist and it needs to be a thing of the past. The problem is, no one seems to know who’s responsible for ending this bizarre ritual.
Why is this guy smiling?
According to Bora Zikovic in Scientific American, it will take days for our bodies to adjust to the forever lost hour. In point of fact, says Zikovic, we’re essentially “jet-lagged for a few days.” He goes on to say even cows will suffer when milked an hour earlier than they are used to. So, that gives rise to the big question: why? DST was first established when lighting was the biggest energy need, meaning changing clocks saved electricity, but that’s no longer true.
The bulk of our energy is used up by nuclear plants, airports, computers, and factories. The big energy companies have done study after study which indicate that DST no longer saves energy. What it does do, however, in the days following its implementation, is contribute to traffic accidents, workplace injuries, heart attacks and depression. The thought of the blazing Cyclops’s eye for another hour each day depresses hell out of me.
So common sense says we need to stop this outdated practice, but it’s a bit “unclear” who’s in charge of the process. Is it congress? The states? Unfortunately, not having anyone to blame, and no one to fix the damn thing DST may well never, ever be abolished.
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James Smith
March 7, 2013 at 3:07 pm
One more reason why you’d like it here. This part of Brazil has no DST. It is dark, winter and summer, by about 6 PM. The temperature doesn’t vary a lot either. About 10ºF is it. There are really only two seasons, “summer” and “not summer”. You can enjoy the beach all year long. It does rain a bit more in “not summer” but rarely for a full day at a time.
There’s never any violent weather and I haven’t even heard thunder for about two years. In ten years, I have personally witnessed only two lightning storms. Compared to Florida’s, those were both rather puny ones, too.
Come on down!
Michael John Scott
March 7, 2013 at 3:16 pm
I can’t imagine living in a place that gets dark at 6PM. What a delightful thought. I just might have to make the move James
James Smith
March 7, 2013 at 6:04 pm
That’s odd, you seem to write it very well.
Michael John Scott
March 7, 2013 at 6:09 pm
He was a spammer James, albeit a clever one, so I classified him as such. Thanks nonetheless….
James Smith
March 7, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Yeah I knew that but it was too good to resist. OK, I know I’m weak, so Sue me. That is, if it’s Suze Randall.
Michael John Scott
March 7, 2013 at 7:07 pm
LOL. I hear you
Pamela D Hart
March 7, 2013 at 6:59 pm
You’re right about DST being outdated and harmful to our health! And I hate it, too.
Although, I do like it darker in the morning and lighter in the evening. Don’t know if DST has anything to do with that or not. We get X amount of daylight hours per day no matter what the clock says. Depending on the season, that is. And I like summer a whole lot better–more light and it’s warmer.
As far as “who” can get rid of DST. I remember when GW was in office. He changed “when” we did DST. It used to be sometime in April and before Halloween. Now it’s March and November. So, maybe Obama is in charge of it now.
Michael John Scott
March 7, 2013 at 7:08 pm
I do remember that. Congress changed it, without objection. Now they need to change it back. Wait. This congress? Not a chance. That would mean they would have to agree on something
RickRay
March 8, 2013 at 7:19 am
Hi guys and gals. I’m up here in Northeastern Ontario. After spending a winter of it getting dark at 4:30 pm , I can’t wait for us to spring ahead an hour on Sunday. I miss the daylight and the sun. Don’t forget, we have 4 seasons here, not 2. Nice weather occurs from June to Sept. So 4 months of longer days suits me just fine. Take Care Ya All, EH !
Michael John Scott
March 8, 2013 at 9:13 am
Dark at 5:30PM? I’m down with that dude
Marsha Woerner
March 8, 2013 at 8:55 am
Okay, my pedantic, geeky comment, but mostly because it’s a personal peeve:
it’s “Daylight Saving Time”, not “Daylight SavingS Time”. IDaylight Saving Timeike to save daylight, whatever that might mean…. You DO realize that the sun couldn’t care less whether or not the clock says it’s 9:00 PM, right? For me it used to be a question of whether I would be driving home from work after dark or not – I preferred NOT. I love “Daylight Saving Time”, even though I no longer drive nor work; my husband still does!
James Smith
March 8, 2013 at 9:03 am
Many do not know that Arizona does not have DST. Here’s why and it may explain some of the antediluvian politics there, too.
When the DST issue first came up for a vote in the Arizona senate on member killed it by reminding the rest, “If there’s one thing Arizona doesn’t need, it’s another hour of sunshine.”
On another AZ tale, Barry Goldwater, when told that AZ was mostly an underpopulated desert wasteland, replied, “All Arizona needs is a few good people and some water.”
He was told, “You could say the same of hell.”
Bill Formby
March 8, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Yah Hooooo! I like my DST. I prefer that it not be dark by 5 or 6 PM. I tend to do a lot of my work into the wee hours and sleep in every day. Personally, I don’t know why every one has to start there day at 7, 8 or 9 AM. They could just as easily start their days at noon or 2PM. I think this started with colonial times when they didn’t have electricity and needed as much natural light as possible. If you stopped and though about it we could probably reduce crime if we reversed things and everyone worked nights and slept in the mornings. Criminals don’t like a lot of people out and about when they commit their nefarious deeds and they do not like daylight either.
James Smith
March 8, 2013 at 2:01 pm
You do have a good point about starting early. I can think of few things in my life that happened before 9 Am that would not have been as good or better at a later hour.
Having said that, I admit I normally would go to work early because I found I could get more done in the first hour or so I was there than I could in the next four or five hours.
Also, if someone was going to call in sick, they knew who would be answering the phone.
Bill Formby
March 9, 2013 at 7:03 am
Yeah James, but the big thing is it doesn’t matter when the first hour starts as long as everyone starts at the same time.
James Smith
March 9, 2013 at 7:49 am
I’d still try to start before everyone else. I get lots of work done when no one is stopping by to ask questions, just to chat or the phone is ringing. Additionally, if I need to take a long lunch or leave early, my own manager rarely minds because he knows I am already putting in more hours than anyone else, including him.
The “no interruptions” is another reason why I always did well working at home. Sometimes my dog would want some attention but I could throw his ball for him and still think about work things at the same time. Multitasking is great!
Norman Rampart
March 8, 2013 at 5:40 pm
We do all that ‘clocks forward’ ‘clocks back’ stuff in England. Personally I’m so busy trying to remember what day it is and what my name is I’ve become resigned to it.
I once walked out of a job at 4pm convinced it was 5pm. My boss said “Come back!” and I said “Balls! It’s home time!”
Unfortunately he’d altered his clock.
I registered for unemployment benefit the following morning….;-)
Jim Moore
March 13, 2013 at 6:52 pm
I think I found an answer to all your concerns about DST: