It\u2019s that time again \u2014 time to change the clocks. It\u2019s just something we do, and just like about everything today, it\u2019s controversial. All of the United States, with the exception of a couple of states, practices daylight saving time. Many people don\u2019t like the concept of setting clocks back an hour in the fall and then setting them forward an hour in the spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a recent poll, only 33% of Americans see the purpose of DST. In fact, over 83 million people have sent messages to Congress petitioning for the end of daylight time. Of course setting the clocks forward one hour in the spring doesn\u2019t create more daylight \u2014 the Sun still rises and sets just the same, but it does change the time on our clocks, so in the spring we add an hour of natural daylight to our afternoon schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know, every year at this time I dwell on DST, so if you\u2019re tired of hearing it, come back tomorrow \u2014 there\u2019ll be a different subject\u2026.
One of the reasons Daylight Saving Time started was because of time zones. Time zones were introduced by major railroad companies in 1883 to avoid confusion that caused train crashes because of different local times. These time zones were enforced by the Interstate Commerce Commission and it also enforced daylight saving time years later in order to help the World War I effort.
(Germany had incorporated daylight saving time during World War I to conserve fuel and power. The idea was that if there were more hours of daylight in the day, people would spend more time outside and less time inside, therefore saving energy. Apparently the U.S. thought that was a good idea and incorporated daylight saving time as well.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the war, daylight saving time was abolished, but some states chose to continue using it. That created the confusion with transportation all over again, so daylight saving time was reincorporated nationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the argument continues \u2014 those favoring DST think it contributes to improved road safety, and a decrease in robberies \u2014 the extra daylight gives people more time for outdoor recreation, and the brighter evening boosts the tourism industry and local economies.
Opponents claim there is no justification to continue using daylight saving time \u2014 it doesn\u2019t save energy and we\u2019re not in the midst of a world war. It\u2019s nothing but a nuisance that messes with our biological clock and life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But no matter what you think, we\u2019ll all be changing our clocks before we go to bed tonight or tomorrow \u2014 or at least some of them. A lot of ours automatically change \u2014 if we do away with DST, I wonder if all our appliances will be smart enough to know it \u2014 or \u2014 will we need to get all new stuff \u2014 or \u2014 maybe we\u2019ll just have chaos\u2026..
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s that time again \u2014 time to change the clocks. It\u2019s just something we do, and just like about everything today, it\u2019s controversial. All of the United States, with the exception of a couple of states, practices daylight saving time. … Continue reading