Persuasive Essay On Daylight Saving Time

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“Only the government would believe you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.” This unknown quote from Under the Cover of Darkness: How Ambient Light Influences Criminal Activity illustrates the absurdity of daylight saving time (DST). DST is the changing of clocks twice a year to increase sunlight in the evening, ostensibly for several reasons. Energy savings are the most frequently cited reason; however, this argument dating back to Ben Franklin has been proven false. Additional reasons DST proponents cite include lower health problems, lower accident rates and lower crime rates. These supposed benefits that result from DST are fictitious as well. The costs of DST outweigh the benefits of continuing the practice; as a result, the United States will benefit by ending the practice of DST.
To begin, the idea and history of DST must be answered. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, “Daylight Saving Time is a plan in which clocks are set one hour ahead of standard time, so that darkness comes an hour later.” (54). The idea of shifting …show more content…

The California Energy Commission found that DST resulted in “...virtually no difference in consumption...” (par. 7). Furthermore, the National Geographic article, “Time to Move On? The Case Against Daylight Saving Time” interviewed Professor Kotchen of Yale. In his 2008 study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Professor Kotchen found that “lighting demand dropped, but the warmer hour of extra daylight tacked onto each evening led to more air-conditioning use, which canceled out the gains from reduced lighting and then some...” (par. 9). As a result, study participants paid higher electricity bills. Also, the study did not take into account emissions that would result from increased travel in the evenings when DST increases the amount of

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