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October 26, 2007

Daylight Saving Time change: Not yet and here's why

Do not set your clocks back this Sunday.

Starting this year, Daylight Saving Time has been extended to the first Sunday in November.

Don’t worry about forgetting; we’ll give you plenty of warning.

That said, feel free to wonder why most of the United States moves its clocks forward in spring and backward in fall.

Energy savings, right? A prevailing argument since before DST's widespread implementation was that moving the clocks forward in the spring would give people a little extra time in the evening before they had to turn on all the lights -- or light candles -- saving on elecriticy -- or wax.

While living in France in 1784, Benjamin Franklin suggested in an anonymous letter to the authors of the Journal of Paris that the city could save nearly one-billion livres tournois – just by “using sunshine instead of candles.”

“An immense sum! that the city of Paris might save every year” he writes. (I’ll take it on faith as I don’t know what livres tournoiswould be worth today).

And during the first and second World Wars, officials in the United States offered DST as a way to conserve fuel for the war efforts. The practice was left up to municipalities to continue if they wanted.

In the mid-1960s, the Uniform Time Act was passed as the request of the transportation industry. States were asked to make a decision regarding DST and make it uniform throughout the state.

And again, more than 200 years after Franklin’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion that Parisians be taxed on window shutters that keep out the sun, in 2005 President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act. That called for extending Daylight Saving Time, starting this year, by a month with the intent of conserving energy.

Also wondering how it may affect your computer's time? If you have a system with the latest updates, it should take care of itself.

Specifically, clocks now spring ahead at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, and fall back at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

But will it help? Read on to find out.

-- By Brandie Jefferson, projo.com staff writer

A study prepared for the California Energy Commission in 2007 concluded not only that it wasn't clear that increased DST would be a significant energy savings, but that there was a one in four chance that DST could lead to a small increase in energy use.

The National Bureau of Standards reviewed the DOT report and went further, saying there were no significant energy savings or differences in traffic fatalities as proponents of DST often say there are.

And just this week; a research paper out of Europe contends that the 1.6 billion people who live in places where DST is implemented may be affected physiologically by the change.

“This seemingly small hour translates to a repeat of 10 weeks in the annual progression of the relationship between our sleep-wake cycle and dawn,” researcher Till Rosenberg said.

“Four weeks in spring and six weeks in autumn. In effect, it’s as if the entire population of Germany, for example, is transported to Morocco in spring and back again in autumn.”

“After taking seasonal adjustment into account, our results show that the human circadian clock does not adjust to the DST transition.”

It may be a good thing that the Energy Policy Act also gives Congress the right to switch back to the old system if it's not impressed with the savings.

Posted by Brandie Jefferson at 6:50 PM | Permalink

Comments

I say move DST back to the way it was. I can't take all these dark mornings!

Scott | October 26, 2007 10:10 PM link

I think something needs to be done.. this is so foolish.. We do this to accomodate adults.. While our children are standing at bus stops at 7:30 AM in the dark. That makes sence to me..!! And I don't know to many people that are saving that much energy since our lights have to go on in the morning..

Sue | October 27, 2007 7:18 AM link

i think its a good idea, i like the fact that its getting darker a little later, i hate leaving work at 400 and its dark already, we should get rid of dst altogether and let the sun and moon do the timing for us. thanks

patti | October 29, 2007 9:14 AM link

DST. Stupid, foolish, annoying, dumb, not worth 15 cents in Chinese money, saves nothing, and never will. Put it back the way it was and stop this idiotic reasoning.

Joe | October 30, 2007 8:18 AM link

October 26, 2007

Daylight Saving Time change: Not yet and here's why

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