Those
of us old enough to remember Rudy Vallee associate the song,
“My time is your
time” with the nasal-voiced crooner. The history of
Daylight Saving Time
which starts today, would more appropriately be connected
to the song, “I Didn’t Know What Time it Was”.
Daylight Saving Time is a testament to the staying power
of an idea despite the chaos and confusion of its’
implementation. Modern Daylight Saving Time was first proposed
by William Willett in 1907 although Ben Franklin, when he
was envoy to France, suggested Parisians economize on candles
by rising earlier to use the morning sunlight and he also
suggested firing cannons in each square at dawn to awake
the populace. Time zones were first used by the railroads
in 1883 to standardize their schedules. The first DST Act
in 1918, in an effort to save energy during World War 1,
was so unpopular, it was repealed the following year. In
1942, President Roosevelt instituted a year-round DST to
save energy during World War 1. After the war ended, some
states adopted their own summer time changes. Then in 1966,
Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in an effort to achieve
consistency in the starting and ending dates for DST but
it allowed individual states to remain on standard time
if they so chose. In 1973, an oil embargo led Congress to
pass a test period of year-round daylight saving. It ended
after two years due to complaints that the dark winter mornings
were dangerous for children leaving for school. It is interesting
to note that India, China and Japan do not observe DST.
In Japan, it was felt that the lighter evenings would entice
children away from doing their homework. In 1986 the Federal
law was amended to start DST on the first Sunday in April
and end the last Sunday in October. The most recent change,
in 2005, occurred when President Bush signed a new Act which
stated DST will commence on the second Sunday in March and
end on the first Sunday in November. Are you still with
me, so far??? According to the New York Times, “We
will now have more orderly confusion with the whole country
placed on Daylight Saving Time unless by a special act of
a State legislature, that state wishes to remain on standard
time”. I wonder what will happen in Minnesota where
residents had a saying, “Convicts do time, soldiers
do double time and Minnesotans do triple time”. Part
of the state last year was observing central standard time,
another part, daylight time and a third, extended daylight…
all at once.
As to who likes DST and who
doesn’t, there is traditionally an urban-rural split.
Farmers are against
it as they say their cows don’t recognize the time
difference. City patrons of bars lose one hour of drinking
time when the bar closes an hour earlier. DST affects the
bottom line of radio stations licensed to operate only in
the daytime as they lose their most profitable time of day;
the morning drive time. Pushing DST into November has been
proposed as a way to encourage greater voter participation
since it is felt more people will go to the polls if it
is still light. Statistics indicate that violent crime lessens
and energy costs fall, as well. Meanwhile, I’ve been
considering what to do with the extra hour I will “save”.
Should I polish the silver, study a foreign language, clear
out the glove compartment of the car or plan my dinner meals
for the next two weeks? On second thought, I’m sure
that the extra hour will get spent re-setting clocks, appliances
and other digital displays. Happy “spring forward”
everybody!
Jean Cherni
is founder of Senior Living Solutions, a retirement advisory
service. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or
15 The Ponds, Branford 06405.
H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
is a full-service real estate company with more than 100
agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline.
Corporate and & Commercial offices are located in North
Haven, where the company was founded in 1958. All listings
can be found in color on the web at: www.hpearce.com. |
