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Day 561: Another Spasm Of Genius



Yawn (II) 
Originally uploaded by Aäron.

… brought to you by the federal government.

In 2001 then-acting deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy Linda Lawson discussed the 1970s research before the House Science Committee. She reported that the studies had found an extension of daylight savings in springtime “might result in electricity savings of 1 percent in March and April, equivalent to roughly a hundred thousand barrels of oil daily over the two months.”

… But Lawson also cautioned the committee about drawing conclusions from studies that were already old in 2001.

The 1 percent we save in electricity we lose in health and loss of productivity – don’t ask how many people in this office are sleep-deprived and will be confused by their meeting shifts over the next three weeks.

2 comments… add one
  • John March 12, 2007, 9:19 AM

    Yes but… wouldn’t we have just lost that productivity later in the year? If we’re going to have DST, we might as well optimize the savings we can get from it by choosing dates appropriately.

    That said, the late darkness felt weird this morning… especially because the day started early with enormous claps of thunder, hail, and Frak leaping over my sleepy head to hide from the ruckus. (All at 4:30 AM!)

  • Maitri March 12, 2007, 9:21 AM

    Oh, yes, addendum (thanks, John, for pointing me to that): I think DST is pointless.

    The end.

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