The times they are a-changin'

Among other things, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 amends the Uniform Time Act of 1966 by changing the start and end dates of Daylight Saving Time (DST) starting this year. Clocks will now be set ahead one hour on the second Sunday of March (instead of the first Sunday of April) and set back one hour on the first Sunday in November (rather than the last Sunday of October). This will make electronic clocks that had pre-programmed dates for adjusting to daylight saving time obsolete and will require updates to computer operating systems. (Source: Wikipedia)

However, the Secretary of Energy has to report the impact of this change to Congress, which retains the right to resume the 2005 DST schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete. (Source: Daylight Saving Time)

With respect to updating computer operating systems, the latest Macintosh OS X update (10.4.6), the system I use, is aware of the DST changes enacted by this law. I don't know squat about the PC's OS, though, so you'll have to go elsewhere for that info if you want it.

According to the folks who put together the Daylight Saving Time website (definitely worth a visit), which is a public service exhibit of the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA), DST does save energy. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that DST trims the entire country's electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about one percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances. Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting homes is directly related to the times when people go to bed at night and rise in the morning. In the average home, 25 percent of electricity is used for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs, and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, the amount of electricity consumed each day decreases.

Here's another interesting tidbit gleaned from the Daylight Saving Time web site: The extension of DST into November has been proposed as a way to encourage greater voter participation, the theory being that more people would go to the polls if it was still light when they returned home from work. (Hell, I think tons more folks would vote if we had some form of proportional representation in this country--or just docked people three months' wages if they don't vote as they do in Bolivia, but I digress.) Anyway, the 2008 presidential election (Nov. 4) will take place after DST ends for that year (on Sunday, Nov. 2), so we won't know whether this theory will hold water until the 2010 mid-term election, which will be conducted on November 2, five days before the DST change on Sunday, November 7.

Yes, Mr. Dylan, the times they are a-changin'--at least in those communities that haven't opted out of DST coverage.