Daylight Saving May Not Save Much, After All

Statistics on supposed energy savings are from the Nixon era
By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 3, 2007 6:02 AM CDT

One of the much-publicized reasons for turning back our clocks—the supposed savings of 100,000 barrels of oil a day—turns out to be a stat based on the behaviors of Americans three decades ago, the Wall Street Journal reports. In fact, most of the studies that revolve around Daylight Saving Time are out of date or just not up to snuff.

When Congress gave us four extra weeks of DST this year, the oil factoid got trotted out as usual. Few mentioned it came from the Nixon era, before the dawn of the Internet or even TiVo. So does DST really cut down on electricity and save energy? "The jury is still out," said a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, which is trying to compile more reliable figures. (More daylight saving time stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X