Posted on 04/23/2005 2:59:18 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
Saturday, April 23, 2005 - Cranky schoolchildren, electronic chaos and increased sales of double espressos -- those are just some of the effects that would ripple through Americans' lives under a plan moving through Congress to extend daylight-saving time by two months a year.
Under the plan that was approved by the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate, California and other states would "spring forward" in March rather than April and "fall back" in November rather than October.
"It's gonna be chaos, man," said Viken Fermanian, owner of Salco Services, an electronics repair shop in Granada Hills, predicting there would be no easy fix to the daylight-saving time change hard-wired into everything from wristwatches to VCRs.
While computer software can be reprogrammed to accommodate different dates, hardware presents a trickier problem.
"The worst thing that'll happen is (the device will) change the time for you, but it'll be the wrong time. If Congress changes the date, you'll get every electronics manufacturer scrambling to change their processors," he said.
But supporters of the plan -- tucked into a sweeping federal energy bill approved by the House this week -- note that any drawbacks would be outweighed by the energy savings provided by maximizing daylight hours.
"It's the most painless way to save any energy at all, and it has some other advantages: It reduces crime and traffic accidents," said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks.
Sherman and other supporters cite Department of Transportation studies from the mid-1970s that found such a move could save the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil each day that daylight-saving time is extended.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
Why dont we just leave it a half hour ahead and not change it anymore?
Doom and Gloom doesn't work anymore thus the LA Times loss of revenue.
yes, please!
i like daylight savings time.
Wasn't it Einstein who said all is relative?
The problem in the middle of summer is that it gets light too early...maybe we should have double daylight time (two hours ahead of standard time) for a couple of months around the summer solstice. That would give us a lot of daylight in the evenings...perhaps too much for families with young children.
Thank you for the correction my FRiend however my statement still stands. ; )
It would make better sense to have standard time all the time. I hate daylight savings time. I'm NOT a morning person and your proposal to "spring forward" in February would mean getting up in darkness more months. ARGHHH...!!
I think this legislation is insane. Couldn't Congress be working on matters of importance?
We tried this schitt in the 70's. November, northern Michigan, sunrise 8:30 am.
Forget daylight savings time. Get back on standard time and leave it alone. DST is a joke.
So do I. I've never understood why we didn't need that extra hour of daylight in the winter.
Why can't we all agree to get up an hour earlier and leave the dang clocks alone?
Arizona is the only state to defy the "government edict" so far. Maybe other states should consider defiance. This is hideous. Get outa my clock, Big Brother!
Amen! this switching the clocks and pretending to fool anyone is just about the stupidest thing we've done this century... almost....
Arizona is right. They long ago realize the extra hour of daylight would burn the crops and upset the chickens egg laying schedule.
It's anti-productive...
How is this supposed to save energy when in Texas, in the summer, you have to run your A/C almost 24 hours a day regardless of what the clock says? Whether the sun sets at 8PM or 9PM make no difference when the temperatue is still going to swing between 80 and 105 every day!
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