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 ...
If you're not a morning person, then why care if it's still dark in the morning? I get up at 8-9am so I could care less if it's still dark at 6am or 7am. I'm an evening person and like to take my boat out on the Lake and watch the sunset, and then do some fishing. Also, the trap/skeet range is "open until sundown."
Doesn't congress have anything better to do?
Didn't know that crops and chickens had alarm clocks.
Bingo! Man cannot change sunrise and sunset. We decide how we live within these cycles. Move the clocks up or back by 12 hours! (exxageration) And the hours of daylight will be the same per the day of the year.
I know. Read my response to folks who think that man is in control of sunrise and sunset.
I thought God had something to do with the rotation of the Earth and the tilting of the Earth's axis.
I guess I better take my 6th grade Earth Science class again. /sarc
Bingo! A few of us here understand EXACTLY what you're saying. We've presented the same logic.
you may want to check post 27.
Couldn't the government just channel its efforts into getting an extra hour into each day? Who cares whether it's dark or light - I could get so much more done.
There were so many people who said that if we extended daylight, it would cause the birds to stay up longer and it would make the temperatures rise.
They were serious.
I'm in agreement with you with a slight twist. Make it February 30th.
I hate daylight savings time. I AM a morning person. It blows to get up in the dark.
It won't make a bit of difference. It hasn't been completely dark for a week.
Neither is Rome on the equator.
They did it for almost the entire decade of the 70s. I don't recall any of this crap happening.
Try Fairbanks. Some people cover their windows with aluminum foil to try to block out the 24 hours light. In summer.
There were so many people who said that if we extended daylight, it would cause the birds to stay up longer and it would make the temperatures rise. They were serious.
LOL! There are some here that believe the same thing.
End daylight saving time.
True, Rome is not on the equator...but the ancient Romans were not as time-obsessed as Americans. It didn't make much difference to them if one hour in the summer lasted longer than one hour in the winter.
Ick
Nogthing but luies and bad assumptions in defense of a stupid idea. There are no energy saving, there's still plenty of daylight after work without it, it's just a dumb idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.