>>Well, we were quite well-off for some time in Bolivia, WITHOUT the hassles of DST. Starting September 1, we now have DST, too - for the first time in Bolivian history, I believe. Regular Bolivian time is UTC minus 4, we'll now have UTC minus 3 while DST lasts.
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>>I checked the Wikipedia article on DST, and there is considerable doubt on whether it actually saves anything. According to some studies, it saves energy, some studies say that actually MORE energy is used (due to increased heating costs), and some say it doesn't make much difference, one way or the other.
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>It's really not worth the trouble. Maybe back then, when there were fewer electric appliances, and the light was a major energy drain. Nowadays, with CFL and LED lights, the cost of keeping the lights on is minor, compared with what other things consume. I guess the damage done by sleepy workers and drivers in the first week of DST in the spring more than offsets the savings, if any.
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>Don't ride an overnight train on the day when the clock is put back in the fall. You'll be annoyed to death between 2:00 and 2:00, when the train spends a whole hour waiting in the station for the clock to come to normal. I wonder what do they do in the spring, drive like crazy?

I have always heard it had something to do with not wanting schoolchildren to have to wait for the bus in the dark. Even if true, as the U.S. has become more urbanized (and suburbanized) that can't be much of a factor any more.

One thing I know for sure is that first Sunday after savings time ends, when it's suddenly an hour "earlier," it's a bummer looking outside and seeing it dark before 5 p.m.