Saving daylight

Over at Greater Greater Washington, Matt Johnson seems to accidentally make a argument for Daylight Saving Time:

In 1895, George Vernon Hudson first proposed Daylight Saving Time, the idea was to make use of an hour of morning daylight which people tended to sleep through. In the modern era, this was thought to save energy by reducing the need for household lighting in the evenings (the lights would not have been on in the mornings because residents were still asleep). Studies by the Department of Transportation and the National Bureau of Standards in the mid-1970s indicated that little impact on energy savings could be seen.

But studies do show that an extra hour of daylight in the evening benefits retail businesses and sporting venues and reduces traffic fatalities.

So, while we had assumed that it was energy-saving (and, in fact, lengthening Daylight Saving Time was a key—and very popular—piece of the Energy Policy Act of 2005), any savings in energy, whether in electricity or transportation, is pretty much a wash. However, since it encourages activity in the evening, it likely has a positive effect on the economy, or, at least, local quality of life.

So, I may be sleepy for the next few days, but I am looking forward to a spring, fall and summer of post-work activities that don’t involve heavy television-watching.