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Tip of the Day
To save energy, remember to turn off the light when leaving a room
Does summer time reduce energy consumption?
photo by tricky ™ (source: Flickr Creative Commons)
Since 2007, daylight saving time (DST) in the United States starts nearly 3 weeks earlier than in previous years. It now begins on the second Sunday of March, while Europe begins European Summer Time (EST) on the last Sunday of March.
But why do we do ‘spring forward’ and does it have any real benefits, such as saving energy?
Below are two video reports from msnbc.com that offer differing opinions on the subject.
According to the United States Department of Energy, daylight saving time saves overall electricity consumption by .05% per day in the United States. Not much in terms of percentages, but as the U.S. is such a huge consumer of energy, still a significant amount. But many doctors and scientists believe that switching the clocks forward and losing an hour of sleep have significant health and safety risks.
NBC’s Today Show – Does daylight saving conserve energy?
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Next, Rachel Maddow looks into why daylight saving time actually exists and several of the myths associated with it. Her guest expert thinks that DST has no tangible energy benefits and that it is actually may prevent real effective action necessary for energy conservation.
The Rachel Maddow Show – Daylight-saving time explained
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
The Independent – Springing forward kills, especially men
Tags: daylight, energy, Europe, forward, Rachel Maddow, saving, spring, summer, Time
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