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Wait a Week for Daylight Saving Time |
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Written by Tom Woods
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
For those of you who remember this sort of thing, don’t change your clocks back on Sunday. Daylight Saving changes on November 4th this year, making the period of winter hours shorter.
Besides forcing trick or treaters to wait an extra hour for dark, this change in Daylight Saving time is supposed save energy nationwide according to the California Energy Commission website.
One more hour of daylight in the evening means less electricity for lights at night. Energy savings are the least in the winter because the short days make the mornings dark too. The new Daylight Saving schedule shortens this less energy-efficient winter period by a month.
One study listed on the Energy Commission site says that the reduced winter hours also reduces traffic accidents as more people travel home from work during daylight hours.
Some sources say the whole idea for Daylight Saving was conceived by Benjamin Franklin, but it wasn’t until 1966 that the United states adopted a nationwide time plan according to the California Energy Commission website. But even since 1966 there have been a number of changes to the system. In fact, if this new system doesn’t save energy or isn’t popular, Congress could change it back to the way it was the last time they changed the system in 1986.
If you don’t like Daylight Savings time, try moving to Hawaii where being closer to the equator doesn't require it or to Arizona where they don’t use it, though the Navajo Nation in Arizona does use Daylight Saving time.
For the rest of us, we have to remember to turn out clocks back on November 4th this year, or end up being late to appointments on November 5th.
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