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Fall back
Daylight-saving time ends on Sunday
By SUZETTE PORTER
Article published on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005 |
PINELLAS COUNTY - Twice a year, when most Americans change their clocks an hour ahead, or an hour back, many question why.
Most people have no idea why the time is changed and those who do usually say it was something done for farmers, which turns out to be totally untrue.
Daylight-saving time is part of a federal law, the Standard Time Act that includes a daylight saving measure, which moves an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
Daylight-saving time started as a way to save energy, especially during the two World Wars.
The history
Some credit the original idea of daylight-saving time to Benjamin Franklin who wrote an essay in 1784, on the thrift of natural versus artificial lighting.
According to information found at aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/daylight_time.html, the railroads began the idea of standard time in 1883, and a U.S. law governing time, the Act of March 18, 1918, established standard time and daylight-saving time.
In 1919, daylight-saving time was repealed, and local governments were allowed to decide whether or not to continue the use of the daylight-saving measure.
Daylight-saving time was observed year-round throughout the nation during World War II from Feb. 9, 1942, to Sept. 20, 1945. After the war, daylight-saving time reverted back to being a matter of local choice.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966, established a beginning date of the last Sunday in April and a ending date of the last Sunday in October for daylight time in the United States and continued to allow local jurisdictions the choice to use it or not.
According to testimony by Linda L. Lawson, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation on May 24, 2001, before the House Science Committee, Energy Subcommittee, on daylight-saving time and energy conservation, Congress enacted the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973 in response to the oil embargo in the early 1970s.
"As a result, in 1974, virtually all of the U.S. observed daylight-saving time from Jan. 6 to Oct. 27, and in 1975, from Feb. 23 to Oct. 26," Lawson said.
In 1976, the starting date changed back to the date established in 1966. The last change to the "time law" happened in 1986, when Congress shifted the starting date to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987.
Purpose of daylight-saving time
Despite many rumors as to the purpose of changing the time each year, daylight-saving time is an energy saving measure. The purpose of its use during World War I and World War II was to decrease the amount of time that people needed to burn electricity for light.
"One of the biggest reasons we change our clocks to daylight-saving time is that it saves energy," according to www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html. "Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up."
Twenty-five percent of the electricity used in an average home goes to lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs and stereos, which are used primarily at night when people are home.
Daylight-saving time reduces the interval between sunset and bedtime by one hour, reducing the amount of time most people use electricity at night.
U.S. Department of Transportation study
Lawson's testimony included information from a study conducted by the Department of Transportation in 1975, after the use of the extended daylight time in 1974 and 1975.
Lawson said the study had found that most people didn't like daylight saving in the winter because of late sunrises. She said parents had expressed concerns about children waiting for morning school buses in the dark and problems getting children to sleep after the change.
Other opposition, according to Lawson, came from some religious faiths with observances tied to sunrise and sunset, and farmers, who use the sun's time, not Congress's time to start and end their day.
The Department of Transportation's study, requested by Congress, was to explore the effect of changing the beginning date for daylight-saving time from the last Sunday in March to the first Sunday in April.
Lawson said the study showed the extended time would allow "modest" energy savings, reduce traffic fatalities, reduce crime and provide "afternoon light for recreation and chores."
Lawson's 2001 testimony included a DOT recommendation to create a national uniformity for daylight-saving time to "prevent confusion and to facilitate commerce and communications."
The DOT concluded that the current system, which allows local jurisdictions to decide whether to observe daylight-saving time, creates confusion in national scheduling and communications.
"Clear and consistent time schedules and observances are critical in assuring railroad safety because the same tracks are often used for training heading in both directions," Lawson told Congress. "Consistency has become more important over the years with globalization, "just in time" delivery and the widespread use of computers with embedded daylight saving time changeover dates."
The DOT also recommended additional studies before any changes in daylight-saving time laws were implemented.
2007 change
Since 1987, daylight-saving time has started on the first Sunday in April and ended the last Sunday in October.
President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 on Aug. 8. The Act will change the beginning date for daylight-saving time to the second Sunday in March and the ending time to the first Sunday in November, starting in 2007.
According to energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/07282005_1613.htm, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which extends daylight-saving time by four weeks, will reduce energy consumption by the "equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil for each day of the extension. Studies indicate that the proposal to adopt daylight savings time from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November will also lower crime and traffic fatalities and allow for more recreation time and increased economic activity."
Some experts are concerned about what the change could mean to computer and other electronic devices.
An article found on www.eweek.com, said "some industry insiders worry that the change could spark smaller-scale Y2K-style problems in computers and electronics."
Companies are beginning to look for solutions to the issues that will arise from the need to make changes to automatic date and time changes that have been programmed into devices using standards that have not changed since 1987.
Most are confident that solutions will be found; however, the experts advise consumers and businesses to be aware of the problem and prepare for the necessary changes to their equipment.
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Article published on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005
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