U.S. lawmakers push a longer day to save energy

[no_to_war_economy]

http://reuters.myway.com//article/20050719/2005-07-19T181657Z_01_N19363796_RTRIDST_0_POLITICS-ENERGY-CONGRESS-DC.html

snip:
Separately, Senate Democrats plan to offer an amendment to the final energy bill to cut U.S. oil consumption by 1 million barrels a day in a decade.


! way to shoot for the stars, a WHOLE 1 million barrels less in TEN YEARS ! no need to rush conservation (gutless ricks with a P)

[phantom power]

1. fiddling, burning, fiddling, burning...

[dbt]

9. A short rant on behalf of Fiddlers:

Y'all knock it off with the "fiddles while _______ burns," analogies, wouldja? It is quite well known that all fiddlers go to Hell. Considering our ultimate destination, why would we play anywhere near flames in this life?

Besides that, extreme heat can screw up one's bow hair something fierce.

:rant:

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Now if only someone could explain to me how changing the time

decreases energy. I get up at the same time year round: 5AM and arrive home at basically the same time every evening 5:30PM. If it's darker in the mornings, say from 5 til 7AM, I use lights for 2 hours. If it's darker in the evening, say from 5 til 7PM, I use lights for 2 hours. Daylight savings time sucks!!

[rkc3]

3. I think the plan invovles slowing the earth's rotation during daylight

in the Western Hemisphere. The US plans to fire large rockets that are to be mounted in Utah, Montana, and Western Texas.

We'll actually save more than a million barrels a day, but there are some losses given the large amounts of rocket fuel burned up during the rockets' firing.

[Brooklyn Michael]

5. U.S. Newswire: Halliburton to get planet-slowing giant rocket contract

"In top news today, Halliburton was awarded another no-bid contract to design, construct and implement three 'Planet-Brakes' mega-rocket bases in Utah, Montana and Texas. The rocket bases will give off the combined thrust power of 3,600 nuclear bombs stuffed in the back end of a superconductor. Firing in the opposite direction of the earth's rotation, the rockets will effectively slow the speed of the earth on its axis during daylight hours. Al Neffgen, Director of North American Infrastructure for Halliburton, was quoted as saying, 'This is the kind of project for which Halliburton's expertise is invaluable. I mean, really, the opportunities to hide costs and overcharge, along with the perks of ruining the environment in these areas (and really, there's not much value to the land in those states, even if they are loyal to President Chen...uh..Bush) is something in which Halliburton has a proven track record of success.'"

After lighting a cigar with a $100 bill, he added, "Ka-chinggg!!"

[rkc3]

16. I pitch a softball and he hits it out of the park.

:toast:

[slackmaster]

22. Funniest reply of the day

Thank you.

[no_to_war_economy]

4. offices, buildings, shopping centers

will use less in the evenings .. most of the world doesn't start as early as you

sleep in more and help the world save oil!

[Neshanic]

6. OMG! What vision! They are so bold, so unafraid...

and in ten years no less. It sends chills up my spine that we have such imaginative and fearless leaders to light our way into future with such things as this. "The Great Society?" I think not, stand back for the 'Great Idea" society.

[dbt]

7. Daylight Saving Time is such bullshit, anyhow.

Turn the damn clocks forward a half hour and leave 'em set that way permanently.

Next crisis, please.

[Iowa]

10. Agreed!

[patcox2]

11. Its not, actually. It is based on empirical evidence.

It is based on well known facts about energy consumption. People are awake longer after sunset than they are before sunrise, so lengthening the hours of light in the evening reduces power usage. I think we could use another hour in the evenning, in the summer, its light long before 6, but it still gets dark at 8:30 or 9. We could be like Paris, where it doesn't get dark in the summer till 10 or later.

[LizMoonstar]

8. question

so 1 million barrels a day reduction in 10 years, so 365 million barrel a year reduction, that's not good?

or did I count wrong?

[Strelnikov_]

13. Current US Consumption Is ~19 M Bar/day

So this would be a ~%5 decrease.

Problem is, in 10 yrs. ASPO predicts that worldwide production will be ~88% of the current level, or about a ~12% decrease.

Too little, too late.

We will be down 12% (or more) in 10 years, but it will be mostly due to demand destruction from high prices caused by demand chronically outstripping supply.

[krkaufman]

18. Thanks, Loin. I was wondering what current consumption was. n/t

[IChing]

12. If we shorten the year, to say 100 days, then the energy we use for

that year is less than it was before.

DOES THAT WORK FOR EVERYBODY?

[FlaGranny]

14. I remember when they

extended daylight savings time about 35 years ago. All it did was make people turn on more lights in the morning and turn up the heater a little earlier in the day. If I remember, there was no actual savings and every other day there was a story of a kid getting hit by a car in the morning because of being out waiting for the school bus in the dark.

[patcox2]

15. Boy is this headline misleading.

They would extend the period of time we have daylight savings time, starting it a month earlier in the spring and ending it a month later in the fall. They are not going to extend it so its a 2-hour shift, as I thought, and which I thought would be cool.

Second, the savings due to extending daylight savings time would be 100,000 barrels a day, for the two-month extension, effective immediately.

The reference to a million barrels pre day in 10 years is to another part of the bill, and its apparent they mean that the savings would accrue gradually, and by ten years from now would amount to a million barrels a day.

[krkaufman]

20. Ah, the million brl/day is extrapolated based on demand growth.

Which loindelrio has pointed out will plummet due to price increases.

Every little bit will help, though. There isn't, and will not be, a single silver bullet.

[shantipriya]

17. Daylight Saving Time

What a dumb idea? How is that going to save energy?Because very little energy is consumed by lighting our houses. If they were smart, they would institute a 4-day work week,therby saving on the gas consumption.
But like everything else, intelligence levelof Americans is hyped. What a bunch of idiots to come up with this solution to our energy problem.

[Massacure]

19. reducing it by 1 million barrels a day is better than growing 2-3% a year.

[flannelmouth]

21. In Arizona we don't do DST

We don't need any more late afternoon or early evening sunshine.
115 degrees in Chandler as I type!!

[Neshanic]

24. Exactly. 9am looks like noon. Sunrise waaaaay too early.

[slackmaster]

23. Some farmer will sue because the extra light will upset his crops

:crazy:

[uncle ray]

25. apparantly nobody told the lawmakers that farmers don't work by the clock

they don't give a damn what the clock says, if it's spring, the fields are dry enough to get into etc, you plant till the plantings done! a typical farm day in spring planting or fall during harvest is 5 am to midnight.