Sunlight Shenanigans

Spring has sprung forward. We now have that extra hour of daylight to enjoy before we give it back in November.

Huh?

Although I've accepted the practice for years I've never actually understood the purpose of daylight savings time. One explanation is that it gives us more natural light at the end of the day when demand for electricity would ordinarily by higher. Then it occurred to me: isn't there a great demand for power as we wake up to start the day? Are we really saving anything? Admittedly, I don't know the answer. But I think it's a good question.

I'm reminded of the tale that there's an absurdity in cutting an inch or two off a blanket, sewing it to the the other side, and thinking we somehow have more blanket. Does it truly matter with which end of the blanket we start our day? As neat as fall back is, I say let's just stop the shenanigans with our sunlight. There are much more fun shenanigans to be had.

Keeping Things Standard

Daylight Savings Time ended early this morning. We 'fell back' an hour. I always liked that. Seven PM yesterday was, for all practical purposes, Six PM. It's a good feeling, if only something of a psychological trick. It beats spring forward, that's for sure.

19 states apparently want to keep DST year round. I don't agree. The claim is that it's better to have the light later in the day. But do we really want sunrise held off until after 9 AM during the worst of winter? Not me. It's bad enough that it doesn't rise until a few minutes after eight that time of year as it is.

I would rather keep standard time the whole 12 months.  Admittedly, I like the idea in part because the thought of summer days beginning before 5AM appeals to me. Taking my morning constitutional at 4:30 is something I could get into. It would be neat.

When it's all said and done I suppose it isn't a big deal exactly when the sunlight comes. There ain't enough sun in the depths of winter no matter how you slice it, and plenty in the summer either way. Still, if it were up to me, we'd never go back to DST again.