Daylight Saving Time ends ... for four short months

Finally, America -- or most of it -- will get an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning when Daylight Saving Time ends.

And the scam that we'll be more productive and save money on electricity bills because there was an extra hour of daylight will be put on hiatus until next spring.

The only good things about turning the clock back an hour before going to bed Saturday night is that you'll get an extra hour of sleep, and it's a good reminder to change the batteries on smoke alarms.

Otherwise, this whole dance about saving money is a waste of time, as I wrote in March when Daylight Saving Time, or DST, started this year. And to make it worse, in four months we'll go through this same lame setup again when we turn the clocks forward an hour.

Four months? What is the point? Not only do I have to get my sleep pattern adjusted, which should be fairly easy, but I have a daughter in kindergarten whose sleep patterns aren't as easy to adjust. This will be a lot of fun. Thanks, Congress.


While some people call for Daylight Saving Time to be in effect year-round, partly because it will save money on electricity bills, I think we should pick a time and stick to it year-round. Don't put America through this headache twice a year.

I'm all for extra daylight in the summer, or any time of the year, but don't tell me it's going to save me money. DST reportedly cuts electricity consumption 1%, which is nothing to complain about. But turning on air conditioners earlier and driving more in the summer must eat up that savings.

There are easier ways to save money: Winterize your home, get dual pane windows, use extra blankets.

Maybe Congress would consider a compromise when DST starts again on March 14, 2010: Set every clock ahead 30 minutes and leave it there, forever.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area who can be reached at www.AaronCrowe.net