AS EASY AS SAVING DAYLIGHT

By Ella Tyler

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 designated the second Sunday in March as the date for Daylight Saving Time to begin in 2007 and the first Sunday in November as the date for it to end. That date is upon us, so at 2 am on Sunday, March 11, clocks should be set forward one hour. On November 4, they will be set back.

Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that Daylight Saving Time 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.

Ben Franklin was the first person to suggest the idea of daylight saving time, and it was mainly in jest. In a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris in 1784, Franklin wrote about the morning after a late evening of discussing a new kind of oil lamp. “An accidental sudden noise waked me about six in the morning, when I was surprised to find my room filled with light; and I imagined at first that a number of those lamps had been brought into it; but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occasion of it, when I saw the sun just rising above the horizon, from whence he poured his rays plentifully into my chamber.”

Franklin continues, “Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs of sunshine before noon, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early; and especially when I assure them that he gives light as soon as he rises.”

Franklin calculates that the city of Paris might save “the sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres tournois every year, by the economy of using sunshine instead of candles.” He suggested, in jest, that one way to enforce this economy would be to roust Parisians out of their beds at sunrise by ringing of church bells and firing of cannons.

Think how much easier it is to just set clocks back.

Here are some ideas, culled from various sources, of ways to save energy that really are as easy as changing your clocks.

If no one using it, turn it off. Hairdryers, cell phone chargers, and televisions are some of the electronics that continue to use energy while off, so turn them off at a control strip or unplug them.

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. Many different kinds are available, including for outdoor floodlights.

More than 50 kinds of products, not just light bulbs and appliances can be ENERGY STAR. These products use less energy, save money, and help protect the environment.

Don’t use the dry function on your dishwasher.

It is as easy to use a folding drying rack as a clothes drier for many items. Put shirts on a hanger and hang from the shower rod. They will have fewer wrinkles.

It may not be easy to carpool to work, but what about to events, out-of-town meetings or running errands? It gives you time to visit with friends.

At the grocery store, each kind of produce does not require its own plastic bag. The cashier can cope.

Edmunds, which publishes a variety of car magazines, tested several ideas for getting better gas mileage. They suggests stop driving like a maniac, drive the speed limit, use cruise control, and turn the car off if stopping longer than a minute.

Three other car tips – park in the first spot you find, park in the shade, and tighten the gas cap.

For Ben Franklin’s full essay, see this website.

These energy savings tips came from:

www.edmunds.com
www.wikihow.com
www.usgbc.org
www.energystar.gov