Now what were we saving again?

The Wall Street Journal has an article from the unintended consequences department. It highlights a recent study from University of California Santa Barbara on energy consumption when Daylight Savings goes into effect finding that energy consumption rises. While there is more daylight, those savings are offset by the need for heat in the morning and longer periods of time for air conditioning. What made sense in Benjamin Franklin's day, has changed with the advent of modern technology.

If global warming is regularly noticeable (the stats say the average is going up, but that does not necessarily translate that we can notice it), will we find out that with more day, we will have more air conditioning because it's hotter, and then the feedback look continues? Let's hope not. Though you have to be amazed at the number of places that could not exist before the advent of air conditioning, think Phoenix or Las Vegas.