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Enough of all this clock changing!

By Ruby White

Most folks have memorized the advice to “spring forward and fall back” to recall whether to set their clocks ahead or back twice yearly.

In the spring, the clocks are advanced by an hour to Daylight Savings Time. That seems backward to me, as there’s plenty of daylight in the summer. When we need to save and make the most of it, is in the winter when there is less. I have even heard people say they are glad to move their many clocks back an hour in the fall, so they get more daylight.

Folks, we cannot create more of the stuff and we can’t stretch it. We need to face the fact that winter days are shorter than winter nights. No matter what we might decide to do with our clocks, that is sort of the way it is going to be.

The inconveniences and damn foolishness of changing time twice a year is another of the ubiquitous “they” pranks.

“They” have millions of people convinced this semi-annual ritual is meaningful. Some folks are under the impression “the farmers want it.” Well, I doubt the cows want to change the time of their milking or that they get to sleep in another hour in the winter. Since very few farmers punch a time clock, I reckon most who wish to could get up an hour earlier or later without having all the city folks adjust to their schedules.

Most people do not question why, they just join all the other robots who are springing and falling.

Indeed, it is not “they” who started Daylight Savings Time. It is generally accepted that old Ben Franklin, who had a lot of good ideas, conceived the idea to get the most mileage out of candles.

Each time we went to war (officially, that is), Congress placed the country on Daylight Savings Time to save energy.

From 1945 until 1966, states and localities were free to decide whether or not to observe Daylight Savings Time. This caused a few problems for the broadcasting industry and the transportation industry, so in 1966 Congress decided to establish one pattern across the country and passed the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This would have been fine and dandy, but they included in it the provision that Daylight Savings Time would commence on the last Sunday in April and end the last Sunday of October. In 1986, the start date was moved up to the first Sunday in April.

I can see where the time zones should be standardized. I can’t see why we should not stay on Daylight Savings Time all year.

During the 1973 Arab oil embargo, Congress put most of the nation on extended Daylight Savings Time in March and April for two years in hopes of saving additional energy. It worked, but they failed to continue the experiment in 1975. The department of transportation said observing Daylight Savings Time in March and April saved the equivalent energy of 10,000 barrels of oil each day, totalling 600,000 barrels in each of those two years.

The earlier time allowed more people to travel home from work and school in daylight, which is generally safer than darkness. There is a documented increase in pedestrian fatalities following the annual “fall back.”

Changing clocks twice a year is right up there with going out on the street to admire the Emperor’s new clothes. It is time to admit the guy is buck naked and stay on Daylight Savings Time next winter.

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