quote for the day:daylight savings edition

"You will never find anybody who can give you a
clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time."

Dave Barry

Hey guess what? Turns out now that Dave's got scientific backing for his humor. See, for years, most of Indiana didnt switch over to daylight savings time. Until 2006, that is, which gave a couple of researchers from UC-Santa Barbara a chance to compare electric use before and after the change...

Their finding: Having the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year, rather than stay on standard time, costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills. They conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.

Seriously, who's surprised. Most people find the switch back and forth to be a pain in the ass, especially when you and the kids start those March mornings off in the dark. I've heard that the primary reason that we're stuck with this stupid system is for the benefit of businesses, which gain an increased hour of daylight for people to shop and recreate in, but I'm not sure if this is true or just cynicism (but according to Wikipedia, it was "the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores [who] successfully lobbied for the 2007 extension to U.S. DST."

Anyway, I hate it, especially when we "spring forword". I need my sleep, people.