[LEAPSECS] Reliability

[Rob Seaman]

Tony Finch wrote:


> The reason DST exists is to more closely sync our activities to  

> sunrise.



The reason DST exists is because it has become a self-propagating  
cultural meme.

Your April Fool's post on risks may be the most coherent analysis I've  
read on the subject.  (Not trying to be ironic.)  In general, this  
list (sad to say - now I'm being ironic :-) represents the species'  
hoard of knowledge on certain topics.

Where I grew up in the U.S. mid-Atlantic states, the most obvious  
effect of DST was to extend the usable hours of daylight for Summer  
evenings.  (Perhaps some other narrative applies at higher or lower  
latitudes?)  Since we were off school, the morning issues were  
meaningless.  And workers go to work when their bosses tell them to.   
The time they own for themselves and their families is after work.

Recently, all discussions of DST are framed in turns of energy.  It  
seems like every argument for DST (saves energy for lighting in the  
mornings) is countered by some argument against (increases cooling  
costs in the evenings).  If DST were really a mechanism for managing  
our natural daylight resource, rather than a naive attempt at PR  
regarding petroleum resources, it would be applied in the Winter when  
the daylight is in shortest supply.

Rob