A Copy of my Letters to Congress RE DST Extension

The Senate is scheduled to debate the energy bill within the next week or so. If you oppose extending DST for two additional months as a bogus measure to "save energy," please e-mail, fax or telephone your senators and US House representative immediately.

Due to the anthrax scare and other security concerns, postal letters to congress will not reach their destination for several weeks.

Dear (name of Senator or representative):

I understand that the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently approved an amendment to upcoming energy legislation, to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.

Citing skyrocketing energy costs, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, along with Rep. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, co-sponsored the measure.

DST probably does save some energy during the summer months when the sun may rise as early 4:30 AM, standard time. But in March and November? At that time of year, any energy saved in the evening is lost in the morning as people turn on the lights and raise the thermostats while they stumble around in the dark to get ready for work or school. Most of us are aware that the coldest part of the day is just before sunrise. This means the shop keeper would have to use more heating fuel in the early part of the day as well as supply more light. In most of today's factories, housed in windowless buildings, many of which operate 24 hours per day, the amount of lighting required would not change.

"The more daylight we have, the less electricity we use," said Markey, who cited Transportation Department estimates that showed the two-month extension would save the equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil a day. But resetting the clock does not give us any more daylight. During March and November, a better name for DST would be "daylight shifting time," because DST merely gives the illusion that some of the daylight period has been shifted from morning to evening.

According to a report on CNN, the country uses about 20 million barrels of oil a day. So 10,000 barrels a day amounts to one part per 2000, or 0.05% (one twentieth of one percent) saving! I do not believe that such a minuscule energy saving would justify disrupting the daily routine of millions of people, by forcing them to go to bed and rise an hour earlier,and having children wait for the school bus in darkness, during March and November. Does the majority of the population really want DST before the first day of spring, or DST at Thanksgiving?

I am hearby requesting your assistance in having the amendment to extend DST removed from pending energy legislation.

Thank you.

(name)