The Lights May Be On In Congress...

But, as usual, nobody's home:

Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.

"Extending daylight-saving time makes sense, especially with skyrocketing energy costs," said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan, who along with Rep. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, co-sponsored the measure.

...."The more daylight we have, the less electricity we use," said Markey, who cited Transportation Department estimates that showed the two-month extension would save the equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

In Seattle on November 1, there are only about 10 hours of daylight.

If you're an 8 hour per night sleeper, that leaves you with 6 hours of darkness while you're awake, no matter what.

In summer, it makes sense (though we doubt it saves energy) to move sunrise/sunset from 4:00 AM/8:00 PM to 5:00 AM/9:00 PM. Since most people are asleep from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM, but not from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. So, in a sense, you DO save daylight in the summer, by moving it to a more useful time for most people.

But you can't pull the same trick off much beyond (or prior to) the equinox.

Thanks to Katie Newmark and Truck and Barter