It is said that George Hudson of New Zealand was the first person to propose the idea of moving the clocks ahead one hour in the summer (Daylight Saving Time) in 1895. His idea was that it would allow people the opportunity to enjoy more hours of light in the evening. Others give credit to Benjamin Franklin for suggesting the idea of Daylight Saving Time more than 100 years earlier, in 1784, as a way to use natural sunlight as a means of lighting instead of electricity, therefore conserving energy. Either way, it wasn’t until 1918 that the US Congress passed the Standard Time Act during WWI as a means of saving more fuel for the war effort by moving the clock ahead one hour.
Since then, there have been several adjustments made to the starting/ending dates of Daylight Saving Time, with the most current one being part of the Energy Policy Act signed by President George W. Bush on Aug. 8, 2005. It stated that starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time would be begin three weeks earlier (the second Sunday in March) and end one week later (the first Sunday in November).
There have been both praise and criticism of the use of Daylight Saving Time. Some like how setting the clocks forward benefits retail businesses, sports, and other activities that allow them to be enjoyed in the sunlight after a typical work day. Others do not like the practice of moving the clocks ahead one hour in the spring and back one hour in the fall because it disrupts a “regular” pattern. If you forget to set your clock the night before, when you wake up in the morning it can be several hours before you realize you are on a very different time schedule than the rest of the nation (accept Hawaii, Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands where Daylight Saving Time is not observed). Luckily most of us now have clocks on our smartphones and other technology items that automatically adjust which helps us to remember to reset our analog clocks. That’s one issue kind of resolved, but there are others that affect people as well. One of the most common complaints is that it disrupts sleep patterns, which can have an affect on your whole day, your whole week, or even more. For many, it’s difficult to adjust sleep patterns – especially for children.
On the opposite side of the debate, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, Daylight Saving Time saves energy, saves lives, prevents traffic injuries, and reduces crime.
Good or bad, Daylight Saving Time is not observed everywhere. It is not practiced in Hawaii or Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) as well as the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. This is allowed because federal law allows a state to exclude themselves from observing it upon action of state legislation. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures website,the U.S. Department of Transportation is the federal agency who oversees Daylight Saving Time and the country’s time zones.
In the last five years, there have been more than 200 bills and resolutions introduced across the nation that would keep states on either full-time Standard Time or full-time Daylight Saving. However, full-time DST is not currently allowed by federal law and would require an act of Congress to change it. So for now, set a reminder on your phone that you have to set “fall back” one hour at 2 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020.
Also, now is a good time to check your smoke detectors. Getting into the habit of changing your batteries when you change your clocks both ahead and back an hour is a good idea and encouraged by fire departments around the nation.
