Energy Doubts Cloud Daylight Saving Time

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AS A GRANDMOTHER NOW RAISEING GRANDCHILDREN, I HATE DST. WHEN MY CHILDREN WERE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHY THEY HAD TO GO TO BED WHEN IT WAS STILL DAYLIGHT. IT WAS ESPECIALLY HARD ON THE ONE WITH THE WEST FACING WINDOW. AT THAT TIME DST STARTED THE FIRST OF MAY. THEY WERE LATE TO SCHOOL THE ENTIRE MONTH TILL SCHOOL WAS OUT.
NOW IN MY "OLD AGE" I AM DEALING WITH THE SAME REDICILUS PROBLEM. MY GRANDCHILDREN HAVE ABOUT TWO WEEKS A YEAR WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL IN THE DARK! THEY CATCH THE BUS AT 7 A.M. THEY WANT TO PLAY OUTSIDE TILL WAY AFTER TIME FOR SUPPER, DON'T WANT TO GO TO BED WHILE IT'S STILL "DAY TIME" AND STRUGGLE TO GET UP IN THE MORNING. (ME TOO!) IT IS JUST MISERABLE TO TRY TO SLEEP TILL THE HOUSE COOLS DOWN.
EVERY - DAY - IS APRX. 24 HOURS. DST CAN NOT CHANGE THAT.
IT JUST CAN'T BE HEALTHY TO GO AGAINST OUR INTERNAL CLOCK.
I LIVE IN SOUTH TEXAS WHERE IT IS HOTTER THAN BLAZES TILL WELL AFTER DARK, SO THAT EVEN THOUGH I RUN THE AIR CONDITIONER FROM ABOUT NOON, THE HOUSE DOESN'T COOL DOWN TILL ABOUT 11 P.M. WE HAVE TO GO TO BED ABOUT 8:30P.M. IN ORDER TO BE UP BETWEEN 6 & 6:30 A.M.
AS HAS BEEN SAID BY OTHERS, PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING HOME "EARLIER" ARE BOUND TO BE RUNNING THEIR ACS EARLIER. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH ENERGY/MONEY IT TAKES TO RUN AC?
MY SON IS STATIONED IN ARIZONA, WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE DST...APARENTLY THEY - GET IT!!!
HOW CAN WE PROTEST TO "THE POWERS THAT BE"? IF YOU KNOW, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT granniebexar@yahoo.com
P.S. PLEASE EXSCUSE SPELLING...CAN WRITE BUT CAN'T SPELL...

JOY of TX 2:49PM March 24, 2008

Why not abolish DST and just adjust working hours (i.e., opening and closing times) where and when it is necessary, on a voluntary basis? Many people now work at home or make their own hours. We should be orienting ourselves on flex-time, both to conserve transportation energy and save lost commuting time. Also, I just cannot understand where the legal authority to change the official time, which appears to be a natural constant, originates.

Gaurav Goel of TX 1:02AM March 19, 2008

I live in Ohio, which Mathematically (as per degrees from the Greenwich Meridian) straddles GMT -5 and GMT -6. As a state which is on the extreme eastern edge of the Eastern Time Zone (GMT -5), Daylight Saving Time makes a certain degree of sense in June-July-August, but is actually counterproductive in mid March and early November. Western Ohio is actually Mathematically in the Central Time Zone, but has been in Eastern since the 1940s. It's very annoying now that Congress has forced us into DST for most of the year to get up in the dark most of the year, deal with morning fog on the way to work, having most children walk to school in the dark most of the year, and 9:45 sunsets in June. There are some parts of the U.S. which should probably not observe DST (such as Arizona and Hawaii presently, and most of Indiana until very recently), or at least observe it for a much shorter part of the year. I for one am tired of never seeing the sun for months on end. With standard time, or a mix of -6 and -5, Ohioans who rise at 6:15 and leave for work at 7:00, and work until 5:30 or 6:00 would occasionally see a glimpse of sunlight in late October, December/January, and March.

marcopolo80z@hotmail.com of OH 5:34PM March 18, 2008