Daylight Saving Time, Why Bother?

How do you like this new time? This time it’s called “Standard Time” or is it “Daylight Saving Time”?

Daylight Saving Time (DST), proponents say that this process (performed by many of us) allows the opportunity to enjoy a sunny summer evening an hour longer by simply moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring.  Such advocates also claim that the concept in its self promotes energy conservation, fewer violent crimes, a smaller number of traffic accidents, and even a higher voter turn-out in election years.

Regardless of all the claims, the implementation or use of Daylight Saving Time has been burdened with controversy ever since Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea in 1784.

By a large majority, the United States (the state of Arizona is a rare exception) begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and returns to standard time on the first Sunday in November. But this was not always the case; a new law to extending DST to the first Sunday in November (as opposed to the last Sunday in October) took effect in 2007; the intent being to providing trick-or-treaters more daylight and therefore more safety from traffic accidents.

On the other hand,  within the European Union (currently with 27 countries as members), Summer Time (Daylight Saving) begins and ends at 1:00 a.m. Plus the date is a bit different from that in the US, the time change begins the last Sunday in March (DST) and ends the last Sunday in October (ST).

For thousands of years, people measured time based on the position of the sun; it was noon when the sun was highest in the sky. Sundials were used well into the Middle Ages (5^th to 15^th centuries), at which time the more accurate mechanical clock began to appear.

The adoption of Daylight Saving Time has almost always brought widespread controversy for most of the world except for those countries located around the Equator, and that’s due to the fact that the daylight hours within those countries are similar during all seasons, therefore there is not an apparent advantage to moving clocks forward during the summer or otherwise.

As of this date (2011), approximately 70 countries throughout the world utilize Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that do not; this broad statement is naturally, excepting those countries that are located within the equatorial zone.

As for me (I know all of you readers are curious to learn just what my thoughts may be on this most solemn topic), I have to agree with what the web site http://www.standardtime.com has to say on the subject. My abbreviated version is something like this: “If we are saving energy let's go year round with Daylight Saving Time, otherwise lets not bother”.

If you are as tired of the time changing fiasco, may I suggest that a simple e-mail to your Congressional Representatives in regard to your opinion is in order.

Here’s the best place to get their e-mail address: http://www.congress.org/; within the Congressional Email Directory.

Sources ...

http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html                                          http://www.standardtime.com/                                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windup_alarm_clock.jpg