Daylight Saving Time Extended in the US — A Mini-Replay of Y2K?

In the energy bill recently signed by US President Bush, there is what might be called, with tongue in cheek, a "sleeper" provision - to extend daylight savings time (DST) at both ends of the year by a total of four weeks, beginning in 2007. While this does not seem likely to have the same impact as the Y2K challenge at the turn of the millennium, there will be many consumer devices, including some computers, that will require adjustment and there is the uncertainty whether new devices will be programmed to make this change automatically. An interesting aspect of DST extension is an undercurrent of skepticism that DST actually saves money, which is its rationale. In an article in The New York Times, Michael Downing traces the history of DST in the 20th Century and asserts boldly: "The new four-week daylight saving extension won't save fuel or lives, but it will put our clocks seriously out of sync with Europe's, costing airlines $150 million a year." But for Canada, as with many other aspects of the two closely integrated economies, the choice may be mainly pragmatic rather than one of principle. Even if there is no saving of energy, there may be a saving of hassle in conforming to the change. For articles on DST in a variety of media, visit these locations: http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q3FA25F9B http://news.findlaw.com/ap/ht/58/08-08-2005/a9b20049205e9538.html http://makeashorterlink.com/?L30B52F9B http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/09downing.html?th&emc=th Summary by: The Editor