Daylight Savings Time

"Daylight Savings Time", November 2 2008

It’s that time of the year again...I hope you remembered to set your clocks back an hour! Unfortunately I did not and I am rather awake at 7:00am on a Sunday morning. So what is Daylight Savings Time and why do we do it? Well, since I’m awake I might as well tell you, so read on!

Daylight Savings Time (DST) was proposed in 1905 by William Willet, an English businessman who liked to spend a lot of time outdoors. His solution to people wasting large portions of their summer days asleep was to advance the clocks in the summer by two hours, which he publicized in a report two years later. Until his death in 1915, Willet lobbied (although unsuccessfully) for the adoption of his proposal.

The practice was adopted by Germany and its allies in the First World War on April 30 1916. Britain and most European nations soon followed suit. Russia and a few remaining nations waited until 1917, with the United States implementing the system the following year. Since then however, the custom has faced many assessments on its worth.

Over the years, various benefits and criticisms of the system have been found. Waking up an hour later reduces the amount of artificial light needed during the latter half of the observance. However, this does not impact the amount of energy used over the course of the year. Many retailers profit from the extra sunlight, allowing more customers into their stores. In contrast, changing the clocks causes significant loss in the stock market. There are suggestions that DST reduces traffic fatalities, and violent crime. It also works as a reminder for people to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (which should be done twice a year), as well as review fire-safety procedures. In the medical community, there is a varied opinion on DST affecting depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder; some sides say it helps positively while others negatively.

In Canada DST is observed on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, but occurs on different days in other parts of the world, even within the same country. In Canada, at 2:00 local time (2:00am for those of you not familiar with the 24 hours system) the clock springs forward an hour in March, and falls back an hour in November. In other parts of the world, the shift may be as long as two hours or as short as half an hour, and in the past was as brief as twenty-two minutes.

Regardless of your opinion of the practice, it seems as though the custom will remain for quite some time. All you can do is re-set your clocks and go back to bed. Unfortunately as previously stated I’m wide awake so it looks like I’ll be getting an early start on the homework today.