These days, electric lights in homes probably make up a very small fraction of the electricity we use. (Most businesses have to have lights on regardless of whether there's daylight outside; then there's all the electricity used by our computers, photocopiers, refrigerators, fans, air conditioners, pumps, and myriad electronic devices we didn't have when DST was invented.)

While it's logical to expect there is SOME savings due to DST, I'd bet it's so small that most people wouldn't bother with it if it were voluntary and if saving money were the ONLY reason to do it.

But saving money isn't the only reason.

For most people, it really doesn't make sense to be sleeping in the morning after the sun is up, and then staying awake long after the sun goes down. (Yeah, I know, musicians....) They'd rather be enjoying the sunlight.

I don't really see how animals and farmers are relevant. Can't you just let animals stick to their own schedules? Don't they do that anyway? Farmers are pretty independent. They can get up and go to bed whenever they want, regardless of what the clock says. Wouldn't farmers naturally get up earlier in summer anyway? They'd probably adjust gradually instead of all at once, but they can still do that, regardless of whether the rest of us observe DST.

I don't think there are any time police that go around waking up farmers or fining them if they sleep too late. Come to think of it, they don't do that for city people, either.

When you come right down to it, compliance is voluntary. The law only defines what we mean when we say 8 o'clock. It doesn't say you have to go to work then. That's between you and your employer.