The autumnal equinox has passed, and night now is longer than day. And we who labor in the schools of the northern U.S. arise in darkness, dress in darkness, break our fast in darkness, and eventually drive to work in darkness - all because our federal government insisted, a few years back, upon extending Daylight Savings Time (DST) from its customary autumnal endpoint (early October) by more than a month. (It also begins in early March, a month-plus earlier than had been customary, and several weeks before the astronomical end of winter!)
In fact, many of the nation's schoolchildren will walk to school in darkness (or at least in the glare of a rising Sun seen head-on by drivers who may not see the aforementioned children until it's too late).
And for what? To save energy, we were told, when Congress mandated the extension four years back. Indoor lighting wouldn't be needed for as many evening hours, the reasoning went. Businesses that benefited from the "extra" daylight were enthusiastic. But it turned out that the reduced use of evening lighting was offset by the increased use of air conditioning - and those of us slaved to public schools, at any rate, are using an awful lot of light (and heating) while jump-starting our days before dawn.
The editors of Wikipedia found that studies were both inconclusive and contradictory when it came to energy savings from extending DST. Ditto state officials in California, a state that has actually reduced its citizens' energy use quite a bit in recent years.
Of course, there's plenty of evidence that school starts too early anyway, at least for teenagers. If this could be tweaked in favor of adolescent sleep cycles, the DST extension might create fewer hazards resulting from sunrise-dazzled, sleep-deprived drivers. In the meantime, turn off the lights when you leave a room, and consider putting on a sweater instead of cranking up the heat - the polar bears will be very grateful!