So, what’s the deal with Daylight Saving Time? How did it even get started and why? The controversy about manipulating time and the pros and cons of keeping Daylight Saving Time and ditching it.
Benjamin Franklin was the first to come up with the idea
of Daylight Saving Time. He wrote an essay about it while a delegate in Paris
in 1784 which he titled “An Economical Project.” Read more about
Franklin's essay In summary,
Franklin noticed the Parisians did not rise with the sun, but rather slept late
and stayed up late. Staying up later, of course, meant they used more candles
and made the practice more expensive. Some of his French friends liked the
idea, but the first person to take his idea of DST was William Willet
(1857-1915), a London builder who appeared in a pamphlet titled “Waste of
Daylight” in 1907 that suggested forwarding clocks 20 minutes on each of four
days in April, and setting them back for four days in September by the same
amount. Personally, I find this even more complicated. When asked why he didn’t
just get up earlier, Willet replied, “What?” Like, okay maybe the British would
rather manipulate time than live with it. Just sayin’. He further said, “Everyone
appreciates the long, light evenings. Everyone laments their shortage as Autumn
approaches; and everyone has given utterance to regret that the clear, bright
light of an early morning during Spring and Summer months is so seldom seen or
used."
It wasn’t until World War II that year round DST was
implemented and earned the moniker, “War Time.” The states did not uniformly
observe DST, however, and the date and time of changing the clocks caused along
with time zones caused problems with TV stations, transportation agencies, and
nationwide industries that depended on coordinated time.
In 1966 the Uniform Time Act came about to unify the
observance of time across the country and included when it would start and end.
After some amendments, today daylight saving time begins at 2:00 am local time
on the second Sunday in March when we’ll set our clocks forward by one hour. It
will end at 2:00am on the first Sunday in November when we’ll move those clocks
back by one hour back to standard time.
There are those who advocate staying on DST all year
round, and others who think we should change the time at all and go back to
permanent standard time. Those who want to continue switching to DST site the
economic savings it brings and how it boosts the economy by encouraging
shoppers and those who enjoy outdoor activities to do so longer during the day.
Studies have shown that more daylight driving has reduced traffic accidents by
one percent in the United States and Great Britain.
Unfortunately, recent studies indicate pedestrian
fatalities rise significantly at 6:00 pm during the weeks in the fall. Those
who walk are more likely to be hit and killed by cars right after the switch
than in the month before DST ends. Although the risk drops in the morning,
there are fewer pedestrians at 6:00 am, so the lives saved in the morning don’t
offset those lost in the evening. The University of Michigan found in their
research that 65 pedestrians were killed by car crashes in the week before DST
ended, compared to 227 pedestrians killed in the week following the end of DST.
In a 1976 report by the National Bureau of Standards
disputed the 1975 U.S. Department of Transportation’s study stating the DST
related energy savings were “insignificant.” The study continued to influence
decisions regarding Daylight Saving Time.
Recent studies suggest there’s not much benefit in actual
energy savings, especially with the widespread shift to electric power after
World War II. And there are health concerns as well. Isaac Fausett, who lives
with epilepsy in Grand Island, Nebraska, found that the sleep deprivation
following the time shift likely sparked more seizures.
Green lines indicate Time Zones. Dark Brown States that want permanent Standard Time, and Olive Green, states with pending bills to stay on Daylight Saving Time.
Not all the states are on board with DST. Hawaii and
Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) do not observe DST. Also the territories
of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands do not observe DST.
Some states want to stay on DST year round.
This year, dozens of states have bills proposing changes
to daylight saving, and some states, including Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas have
bills in progress to opt out of the shift entirely. This option would require
the state to stay on standard time year round. But that's often met by
opposition, because this would mean the sun would rise and set an hour earlier
than citizens are used to for most of the year. Other states wishing to keep
DST year round are Florida that passed a bill with huge support to maintain DST
year round now pending action by Congress. California, with 60 percent approval
has a bill pending in state legislature and are joined by bills pending for
Oregon and Washington State.
Still, many states are making strides. Last year, Florida
passed a bill with overwhelming support that declared the state would go on
year-round daylight saving time pending action by Congress. A similar
proposition in California gained nearly 60 percent of the popular vote, though
it still needs approval in the state legislature. Now, bills pending in Oregon
and Washington State also propose year-round daylight saving.
Another option many New England States hope to adopt is a
year round “Atlantic Standard Time’” a zone that lies to the east of Eastern
Standard Time, and opt out of DST. These states are New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
With all this said, I have to admit I find it annoying
switching back and forth in the spring and fall. The only purpose it serves for
me is to remind me to change the batteries in my smoke detector. I wish they
would just make up their minds to use one or another, but this switching back and
forth is just aggravating. Since not all states are not on board with switching
it just makes it all more complicated as far as I’m concerned. It makes me want
to holler.
What do you think? Keep switching? Stay with Daylight
Saving Time? Just go back to Standard Time and stick with it?
Author
of Heartwarming Stories
