Yeah, I knew in my frontal brain that the time change was early this morning, but my subconscious clock just doesn't care. It still gets daylight and it will get dark and the way we keep track of time is a distraction. Still, the requirement is there to regulate civilized life, to keep society humming along. We still keep appointments on a schedule that is determined by a mechanical device I strap to my wrist. So, I just now changed it to read 6:33 to reflect the current societal reality and strapped the damned thing to my wrist.
So, why do we change our clocks twice per year? I recall as a child that they were concerned about energy usage, but Wikipedia cites studies that say the amount of energy savings are minimal, if any.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation (DOT) concluded in 1975 that DST might reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% during March and April,[7] but the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) reviewed the DOT study in 1976 and found no significant savings.However, we continue to move our clocks about, a twice per year waltz that seems locked in our collective experience. I'm not sure it makes any difference, but we continue to do it.
1 comment:
I have a good friend who's full blooded Haida. His mom was visiting a few years ago when DST went into effect. She thought it was funnier'n all hell. Giggling while she sipped coffee, she said "You can't tell me you white guys aren't nuts. You cut the bottom off the blanket, then sew it to the top to make it longer." I love that old woman almost as much as if she were my own mom.
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