Save oil by changing the clock, not the car

How do you reduce the need for oil in America? A government mandated fuel economy of, say, 28 miles per gallon would work. So would the promotion of alternative energy sources, like fuel cells, solar and wind. While these are reasonable ideas embraced by many Americans, the 109th Congress doesn’t think so. In their comprehensive, nation-wide energy bill passed last Thursday, the House did little to promote alternative energy, and said nothing about fuel economy. This is not to say they didn’t have a solution. Tucked deep into the Republican-written bill is an amendment to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the bill that established daylight savings. The amendment to the 39 year old bill extends daylight savings by two months; America would “fall back” in November, not October; and “spring forward” in March, not April. By extending daylight, America would use less electricity and could save as much as 100,000 barrels of oil a day, argues the House. While reducing the need for oil is appreciated, Jon Coifman, spokesman for the National Resource Defense Council, can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a better way. “We are going to screw around with the clocks, but do nothing about making cars and trucks more efficient,” Coifman said. “That is astonishingly stupid.”