onward ::
i have to admit i am loving daylight savings time [except for the first few mornings. ugh that was hard]. i'm such a fan of eating outside at 7pm - of getting home after a long day and still having a minute to enjoy the back yard. of feeling like my day doesn't need to be over when i'm done with work because it's dark and dreary.
i had heard that part of the reasoning behind shifting daylight savings time to a few weeks earlier was to SAVE ENERGY. we don't need as many lights on at night if it stays light longer, right?? that sounds good doesn't it?
well. think again.
first i heard nell boyce's report on morning edition . then i went and read this study .
so really the longer days help golf courses, shopping malls, and restaurants? and we are more likely to get in our cars and go do something since we have are more upbeat with the light? uh.... not if we are conscious about it. i say walk to the restaurant if you can.... or plan ahead and have your after work shin-dig somewhere near public transit.... or carpool to your early evening tennis/golf/swimming romp.
and heck - since there's "more light" maybe we should all buy these solar panel devices and charge up our ipods and phones with all the extra sun.
11 comments:
My husband and I recently left our downtown, big city lifestyle (the high stress jobs and the consumption that defined them) and moved into a home built by my late grandparents on 20 acres in the rural south.
We're taking baby steps, learning to listen to the earth and even our own bodies more closely.
After 5 months we're still fiercely devoted to our plan of change, but we're also feeling very overwhelmed and more than a little isolated.
Thanks so much for providing a connection to like-minded people in the world at large.
Wow they shifted the time by 2 weeks? I never knew that, lucky I've not been calling anyone in a different timezone.
I always feel hyper aware of the natural world when the clocks change, suddenly you can't help but notice what is going on beyond the window, the workplace, up there in the sky.
It always kick starts me into a frenzy of seasonal cooking. Nothing like a walk to the farm (or whatever others have) for some totally in season, fresh local organic produce to mark that change in the culinary season. Plus it's a reminder to get growing in springtime. I see my chives are looking perky out the window!
Sorry, sorry, "more light"?
There's no more daylight, it's just that it's at a different time to when it used to be. It's still the same old 9,12,15 hours of sunlight that it used to be.
This is one of my pet bugbears - they keep trying to make the UK go onto mainland western Europe time (again, having done it in the 60s for 3 years until the population revolted!) and one of the so-called benefits is always "more light" - which is ridiculous. Not only does it help the business you've mentioned, but being darker for an hour longer in the mornings means more ice on the roads in rush hour and for school runs, which in turn will lead to more danger for pedestrians and cyclists.
Rant rant rant!
I enjoy having more daylight in the evenings, but I don't think they needed to bump up the change by 3 weeks. How does it save energy since now people will just use more light in the early mornings? It is pitch dark at 7:00 AM which is not at all helpful for me because I run in the mornings. Our neighborhood is relatively safe, but still, running in the dark is not my favorite thing to do. And it also means that children have to wait for the bus in the pitch dark, or walk to school, and I don't think that is a good thing at all. So the change definitely isn't for the good of the people or energy savings, as usual, it's all about business. I do hope that the government pays attention to issues like children going to school in the dark, and the danger it may cause for pedestrians and cyclists; and if the results show that there are more accidents, etc., take note of it and perhaps change the start back to the first weekend in April.
Sorry for a rant, but I just don't think they should have made this change!
hey lisa, thanks for posting! ;-) this photo is lovely and apt!
I agree with Juli. Plus my body has not been able to handle the change very well. It's been such a struggle getting up in the morning!
(This is a great idea for a blog, btw!)
very interesting thoughts on daylight savings time... i am off to listen to the npr report too. the energy thing is a bit funny as that hour of pitch blackness in the morning seems to cancel out the evening energy savings... perhaps they would like us all to sleep in :) xo
i haven't been able to get out of bed in a timely fashion since the time switch, until today. last night after work we went for a walk, played badminton with friends and didn't even start making dinner til after 8 pm. then of course collapsed into bed early... thereby getting me up earlier, too. i do love what feels like "extra" light after work, but it's so hard to get up in the dark. thanks for the post, lisa!
thanks for pointing this out, i actually didn't realize that it would push more folks out into their cars to cram in a last minute shopping session. i can that happening all over.
This year's DLS has kicked my butt. I was in bed at 9:00 last night!
Wow - I didn't realise you could get a solar charger for your ipod and mobile....thats amazing!!!
I need one too ;) - and so affordable! Gosh you gals are hitting the mark already. Green tips galore! thanks!! x
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