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SHIFT INTO DAYLIGHT

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2007

Wondering when it's over? When we're going to stop saving so much darned daylight?

At 2 a.m. Sunday, the United States will turn its clocks back an hour and revert to so-called standard time. Instead of saving daylight for the evening, we'll all go back to spending it in the morning. No more eating your oatmeal in the dark, as long as you rise after about 6:45 a.m.

If it seems as if daylight time lasted longer than usual this year, your internal clock is keeping good time. It was a month longer, thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Gretchen Parker
Daylight-saving time now starts three weeks earlier in the spring and lasts a week later in the fall. The rest of the year - standard time - is now a third as long as daylight time.

Before the act was passed, the Department of Energy estimated the U.S. would save 100,000 barrels of oil a day. That's because Americans tend to use more energy in the evenings keeping the lights on and appliances humming.

An agency spokeswoman said last week, though, that the savings likely would be 'minimal or fractional.'
Lawmakers
specifically

reserved the right to go back to the old schedule, with less weeks of daylight-saving time, if they decide the energy savings aren't worth it.

Congress won't know for sure how much we saved until the Energy

Department conducts an analysis this fall. It, too, is waiting - for the end of daylight-saving time.

STRETCHING

SAVING

DOUBTING

HEDGING

WAITING

STRETCHING

SAVING

DOUBTING

HEDGING

WAITING

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