What do you folks think of the change in when Daylight Savings Time starts in the U.S. (change clocks ahead in mid-March instead of early April, starting in 2007)?
I primarily workout early in the morning due to family stuff…this means that instead of sunrise at say 6 a.m. it will be at 7 a.m. Looks like I’ll training more in the basement for those three weeks, and the first week of November.
The extra daylight after work will be nice, though.
edit: this starts in 2007, not next year.
I am coming from the opposite perspective. Most of my outdoor training around that time of year is at night. So I will be looking forward to a little more daylight a few weeks earlier (also, I believe the “fall back” time switch will be moved to the middle of November now).
FYI- DST changes don’t take effect until 2007. BTW I like the change.
I wish they’d just pick one and stay with it, and stop switching back and forth…
I think daylight savings should be abolished altogether. It probably made a lot of sense when it was first started, but now it seems kind of silly.
-Colin
I think daylight savings should be abolished altogether. It probably made a lot of sense when it was first started, but now it seems kind of silly.
-Colin
Um, it was introduced to save engery. If anything, it’s more important now.
Yes saving energy is important. Is it a priority for most Americans? I think not. Do people really care about the energy savings that this is going to provide? Will it actually provide energy savings? Most average Joes and Janes are only going to care that they have to adjust their clocks at a different time, and when the time comes in 2007 they’ll have forgotten how it got to be that way since the decision was made way back in 2005.
<Tibbs’ Lavender Room>
To me this is just a ploy to do more drilling in the North Slope. I say to the current (aww hell former ones too!) administration: put your money where your mouth is. Show me that you’re saving energy in your daily life, show me how you personally are minimizing your dependance on foreign and domestic oil and maybe I’ll take you seriously.
</Tibbs’ Lavender Room>
Man I need a cup of coffee BAD.
jsargevt
Um, it was introduced to save engery. If anything, it’s more important now.
Huh. I hard always been under the impression that it was started to make the early mornings easier for farmers to do their chores. That’s why I said that it’s a little silly now. But the energy savings idea does make a lot of sense. But I still say do away with it. Daylight savings times doesn’t actually change anything other than clocks. It doesn’t actually change the number of daylight hours in a day.
-Colin
Doesn’t save energy here. In the summer when the fog rolls in early afternoon, we need lights and the heater running. As someone who trains in the mornings, I hate it.
I’m dubious as to the energy saving value of DST.
Supposedly fewer lights in the evening when we are home. But then again more air conditioning because the house can stay 77 all day but when I get home it’s back to 70. More lights in the morning when we are commuting to work.
I suppose someone has studied energy patterns in the 7 days leading up to and then proceeding the changeovers.
From an article:
"U.S. legislators have been relying on an old 1970s study that suggested it would result in savings amounting to about one per cent of electricity consumption.
‘A lot has changed since then,’ said Ronnie Kweller, with the Alliance to Save Energy. ‘But it’s still really pretty small in terms of energy savings.’"
My guess is it won’t save much, if any. Will be about impossible to tell, given temperature differences year-to-year, different levels of economic activity, etc.
I read an article that said it was passed just to give people something else to complain about.
With apologies to all you morning types who hate it, but put me down as an unabashed Daylight Savings Time Groupie!!
Don’t care what anybody else says, I am ECSTATIC that they’re talking about extending DST. I’m not a morning person, plus I start work at 7am, so the majority of my training is done in the evening. With DST I can actually get in workouts of reasonable length after work. Plus I tend to get seasonal affective disorder in Fall/Winter, so the longer you can make my evening light last, the better!
Having said that…I agree that this administration has its head where the sun don’t shine and needs to do something really substantial about energy conservation…this is merely a distraction (although one that I’m happy to accept!).
I’m only disappointed that the original plan (have it start the beginning of March and end at the beginning of December, I think it was) has been reduced to adding just one or two more weeks on either end. I say make it year-round, then everybody can stop moaning about the change.
$.02.
I’d prefer working out in the evening as well. Maybe this will still be around in 5-10 years, when I can once again…
I don’t like it. I want sunrise early because I like to train in the early am!
I suppose it depends on when you workout. I do before work, and we live in Michigan, which is at the end of a time zone so dawn gets here really late according to the clock. This change will basically mean two more months a year when almost all of my workouts will be entirely in the dark. I am miserable and really upset that a Michigan congressman proposed this idea. I might start calling him in the morning when it is still dark and shouldn’t be to remind him how stupid an idea this is.
I’m with you there…hard to get on the road for a bike ride any earlier than 6 now (especially if you’re trying to cram in a couple hours before having to leave for work), and it’s getting lighter later every morning. My vote would be to leave it at Standard time year round. Would love it to be getting light at 4:30 am in the middle of the summer!