2. Since we are pushing daylight savings time ahead by 4 weeks, how exactly is this going to save energy? (I just see our kids having to going to school in the dark)
3. Why are the farmers upset about it? (I thought they work sun up to sun down regardless of the time).
4. If this is such a good idea then why don't they use it all year round?
Posts: 5268 | Location: The Motor City | Registered: 06-03-02
1) In April 1916 in Britain. It was introduced to save energy in the World War .It was introduced in 1918 in the USA, for the same reason, but survived only seven months to be ended in 1919, only to be reintroduced in the next war, on February 2nd 1942, whence it has remained. In Britain there was 'double' daylight saving in the Second World War, with two hour differences. (See how lucky you were?)
2)The idea is to get more working hours in daylight.Every time this question is debated here we too get arguments about children travelling in the dark , and road safety generally.
3) Cows do not know the time. So they are confused by the change. Same goes for sheep. That wouldn't matter if the sheepdogs bothered to keep abreast of developments, but they don't, so they are as confused as the ewes and don't get the time right either. Farmers would prefer no daylight saving at all.
4) Now that I like ! Daylight saving all year round. Like,we don't change the clocks ever? It's a wonder nobody has thought of that. ( What would we call it?)
Originally posted by clarebear: 1. How did daylight savings time originate?
2. Since we are pushing daylight savings time ahead by 4 weeks, how exactly is this going to save energy? (I just see our kids having to going to school in the dark)
3. Why are the farmers upset about it? (I thought they work sun up to sun down regardless of the time).
4. If this is such a good idea then why don't they use it all year round?
1. It was originally proposed by Ben Franklin, for the city of Paris.
2. Beats me, but I recall Nixon ordering the same thing during the "Energy Crisis" of his term as President (I also recall a political cartoon of him demonstrating how to make a blanket a foot longer by cutting a foot off of one end and sewing it onto the other).
3. Once again, I can't tell. On the other hand, very little farming is done that old-fashioned way. Agribusiness uses modern industrial methods.
4. To some extent, we do. The centerlines of the actual time zones are not really on 15 degree centers with a zero-point at Longitude zero. Some Southern States don't change time at all. Arizona is on the same time as California when the latter has daylight savings in effect...
Alan Moore
Posts: 2012 | Location: USA | Registered: 10-05-03
Minor point, but first, there is no 's' ... it is daylight saving time, despite the fact that many people (jncluding myself sometimes) put an s at the end.
Franklin's actual proposal was that people should get up earlier and go to bed earlier, he never proposed an actual changing of the clocks, and the article seems mostly a joke (proposing things like a tax on window shades and armed guards to enforce candle rations). William Willett made the first serious proposal in 1907, but he was dead a year before the first implementation of his idea.
The idea behind it was saving energy. At one point, this was studied and it was found that it reduced energy consumption by 1% (the lights are on for less time). It isn't so clear that this is the case these days - critics argue that airconditioning usage increases and (since air conditioning is much more costly than lighting) there is actually aqn increase in energy consumption. I am not aware of any modern study settling the issue. Other crticisms include the adjustment to a new schedule causing more accidents, and, of course, the farmers suddenly being out of synch with the rest of society.
Some have actually proposed using it year-round (as I understand it, there is an effort to get such a change made in Britian). In certain places (perhaps Britian) this may make sense depending on how close they are to the edge of a time zone and how far north they are, but it wouldn't in many cases. The idea of daylight saving is to increase the proportion of the daylight hours that you are awake. there's little need for that in the winter when you wake before it's light and go to bed after it's dark. Using what is now daylight saving time in the winter would have the effect of moving more people's waking up and morning commute into the darkness for a greater amount of time - which I imagine would make gettign up more difficult than I find it already () and wouldn't do anything to save energy.
Airlines also have a big problem with changing daylight saving time. (wow, that was hard to type ) They estimate it will disrupt their overseas flight schedules and cost them $147 million in lost business.
) and wouldn't do anything to save energy.
