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There are a lot of myths to bust about daylight saving time — does it really save energy? Was it invented for farmers? Does it “end” in November or did it just begin?
We do a dramatic reading of Benjamin Franklin’s 18th-century sh*tpost that somehow led to him being credited for inventing daylight savings. Then, we take a look at the 2005 energy policy that changed the game (or, really, kept the fossil fuel subsidy game strong).
Other topics include mall culture, another win for the golfers, and a haunting prediction about high energy consumption.
Story #1: Origins of Daylight Saving Time (Olivia)
Sources:
Enjoy Your Extra Sleep, New York Times, November 2 2021
Benjamin Franklin’s letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris, 1784
Daylight Saving Time, Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, March 27 2020.
8 Things You May Not Know About Daylight Saving Time, History.com, updated 2020.
Daylight saving time ends Sunday. Here are 4 things you should know, NPR, Nov 6 2021
Does Daylight Saving Time Conserve Energy?, Scientific American, March 2009
The Times Reports on “the Day of Two Noons,” History Matters, November 1883 report
Story #2: 2005 and who benefits from Daylight Savings? (Elise)
Sources:
The Reasoning Behind Changing Daylight-Saving, NPR, March 2007
Energy Policy Act of 2005, Ballotpedia
Daylight Saving Time Extension Was Part Of Energy, Tax Package: Was It Worth It?, Forbes, March 2014
MARKEY: 10 YEARS LATER, DST EXTENSION STILL DELIVERING SAVINGS, SMILES, Ed Markey US Senator for Massachusetts, March 2015
Welcome to SAD season. How to stay sane this winter, Los Angeles Times, Nov 2021
Sunshine Protection Act, Wikipedia
Daylight saving time in the United States, Wikipedia
“The energy policies adopted during the current decade will determine the range and character of social relationships a society will be able to enjoy by the year 2000. A low-energy policy allows for a wide choice of lifestyles and cultures. If, on the other hand, a society opts for high energy consumption, its social relations must be dictated by technocracy and will be equally degrading whether labeled capitalist or socialist. […] Even if nonpolluting power were feasible and abundant, the use of energy on a massive scale acts on society like a drug that is physically harmless but psychically enslaving.”
Ivan Illich
Found in the book: Past and Present Energy Societies
Ivan Illich essay: here
The Dump
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