Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Let's restore Indiana to central time

These abnormally dark March mornings are depressing. Natural sunrise time here today is 6:01 am (Local Apparent Time). Actual sunrise is 7:54 am on eastern DST -- virtually double daylight saving time. Let's restore Indiana to the central time zone and get some of our morning daylight back. That would give us a sunrise today of 6:54 am -- "only" 53 minutes of daylight shifted from morning to evening.

Updated Thu, 17 Mar 2011 to add some options for action on this issue.

If you live in Indiana, and you'd like to get back one of your two hours or so of missing morning daylight, you can contact your state representative and state senator and let them know you'd like them to support Representative Phillip Hinkle's 2011 HCR 0011 to restore Indiana to the central time zone.

How to contact your Indiana state legislators

In addition, you can register your support at the Hoosiers for Central Time grassroots organizing website and ask them how you can help advance the cause of restoring Indiana to central time.

Central Time Coalition

If you live in Indiana, or anywhere in the United States, and don't like the recently-darkened mornings of March and November, you can contact your U.S. representative and senators and let them know that you'd like to see the DST period reduced from 8 months back to 6 or 7 months again. Or, if you're feeling really radical, let them know about the recent study that shows DST results in higher, not reduced, energy usage, and ask them to repeal DST entirely -- no more switching clocks forward and back twice a year.

2008 study concludes DST increases residential electricity demand
How to contact your U.S. Representative
How to contact your U.S. Senator