4×10<8×5?

Spring Forward A little over a year ago Utah adopted a 4-day work week for state employees, to combat rising energy costs. While energy costs have come down, the policy has remained in effect, resulting in a 13% reduction in energy use. This puts them well on the way to their goal of a 20% reduction by 2015. Should other locations follow suit? It’s an intriguing proposition, but dependent upon season and locale. One of the major contributions to savings in Utah has been the shifting of work hours from blistering mid-day heat on Fridays, to cooler mornings and evenings of other days; it’s a desert and cools down relatively rapidly once the sun is down. A similar program in Massachusetts should see some reduction in summer energy use, but could increase heating demand in the winter. It is interesting to note that these shifts, and the incumbent savings, are not unlike the complicated story of Daylight Saving Time

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