Posted on 03/14/2010 10:13:28 AM PDT by Star Traveler
On Monday August 8, 2005 President Bush signed into law a broad energy bill (Energy Policy Act of 2005) that will extend Daylight Saving Time by four weeks in 2007. The provisions of the bill call for Daylight Saving Time to begin three weeks earlier on the second Sunday in March and end one week later on the first Sunday in November. Previously, Daylight Saving Time started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
In 2007 when the provisions take effect Daylight Saving Time will begin on March 11 and end on November 4, 2007.
While polls indicate most people favor extending Daylight Saving Time there are opponents who fought against the extension. The airline industry has said it will cost millions of dollars to change schedules and some school systems have concerns that students will be waiting for the bus in darkness in the mornings. It is expected that school systems will issue advisories to both parents and students on how to handle these situations.
There have been many proponents of extending Daylight Saving Time, including operators of golf courses, theme parks and businesses providing outdoor activities.
Previous Daylight Saving Time Provisions
Previously, in the United States, Daylight Saving Time began at 2:00 a.m. local time on the first Sunday in April. On the last Sunday in October areas on Daylight Saving Time returned to Standard Time at 2:00 a.m.
The names in each time zone change along with Daylight Saving Time. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and so forth. Some areas of the United States not using Daylight Saving Time include, Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.
|
|||||||
Boy, when this first started, it sure seemed early in the year and late in the year for those changes. It still does. This seems awful early ... :-)
- Old Indian saying.
Day light saving time, what a pain. We need to end this stupid practice.
Agreed. Either pick standard time or go one hour ahead and have the clocks stay there. I prefer standard time but if we go either way and it stays that way, I’m all for it.
Oooh, a letter from the school is really going to protect the students who have to wait in the dark. I would turn all the outside lights on and send the dogs out while mine waited at 6:30 AM. I'd also peek out the bathroom window just to make for sure and they were just at our drive. What about the kids who have to walk several blocks to the bus stop.
“We need to end this stupid practice.”
Happy to be in AZ where we never started that stupid practice.
Another something for nothing democrat gift.
Daylight Saving Time Extended by Four Weeks in U.S. Starting in 2007
By Matt Rosenberg
Mar 14 2010
On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States.
Every Spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each Fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.
The phrase "Spring forward, Fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of Standard Time ("Spring forward"). We "Fall back" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to Standard Time.
The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the eight-month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. (map) change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.
Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.
Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time. This choice does make sense for the areas closer to the equator because the days are more consistent in length throughout the year.
Daylight Saving Time Around the World
Other parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide European Summer Time. This EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October.
In the southern hemisphere, where Summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don't observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season; so there's no advantage to moving clocks forward during the Summer.
Kyrgyzstan and Iceland are the only countries that observe year-round Daylight Saving Time.
I wish we would just stay on the same time all year.
Agreed. Either pick standard time or go one hour ahead and have the clocks stay there. I prefer standard time but if we go either way and it stays that way, I’m all for it.
There are probably several reasons for it, but I remember two in particular. One had to do with not sending Elenetary School kids and them being in the dark when travelling either to or from school.
The second one had to do with energy savings, overall.
Now, both of those would not be a fact -- if only -- people themselves, all businesses, schools and government offices and so on -- all adjusted their starting times at different times of the year, and simply "go with the sun".
BUT, people and businesses and schools don't do that, so the government simply changes the clocks across the board -- which accomplishes the same thing as people doing it themselves, except that they won't... LOL ...
Arizona never did climb on that particular bandwagon.
Arizona doesn’t have DST, so when I fly to Las Vegas, I get there when I leave!
I’d like to see hard numbers on the energy savings.
I wish we would just stay on the same time all year.
Some people might say so, but others won't... :-)
For example, in Oregon, with Daylight Saving Time, it's almost like having another "day" (for activities) after you get off work, because of Daylight Saving Time. You've got enough daylight left in the day, after work, to actually do some outdoor activities, before it gets dark. And people do take advantage of that.
The alternative would be that you couldn't get off work early (if it was still standard time), and then you would think twice about any activities outside, after work, because the amount of daylight would be limited.
So, for people up there in Oregon, you get quite a bit of extra time. I say that, because compared to Oklahoma, in Oregon, there's about one hour a day more daylight than in Oklahoma, so it makes a bigger difference in Oregon.
How much have we increased globul warming by adding this extra hour of daylight all these years?
I’d like to see hard numbers on the energy savings.
I'm sure someone could supply that for you, but I can confirm it from just personal use, in that from the electrical bill from light usage and from not having as many lights on for evening activities -- I got a lesser light bill, as a result.
My heat wasn't on electric, but natural gas, and so, during the extened time that was available for doing things (after getting off work) and not having to "light up the house" or the yard for any of the activities... we could do a lot of things, and not have to spend on the energy to do them.
The electric bill just about drops to nothing during the summer months when Daylight goes almost to 10 PM.
But, for figures for a "national work-up" of energy savings... I'm sure someone can come up with it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.