Daylight-saving time means more sunshine
By Michael Picarella
pic@theacorn.com

It’s that time of year to "spring forward." At 2 a.m. this Sun., April 3, Californians and others will advance clocks one hour, b ut not everybody knows the story behind daylight-saving time (DST). Contrary to popular belief, DST was not proposed by farmers.

Experts say that, just as sunflowers turn their heads to catch every sunbeam, so, too, has man discovered a way to get more benefits from the sun. Daylight-saving time is a standardized method that gives citizens more daylight to get things done. Proponents say it helps prevent crime and traffic accidents, too.

DST begins for most of the United States at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of April. Time reverts back to standard time at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October.

Scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin first conceived of saving daylight hours in 1784 and proposed the idea to conserve energy and get the full use of the sun, according to sources. In his essay "An Economical Project," Franklin wrote that beginning in June he would often wake early in the morning because the sun would come up and light would pour through his open shutter and fill his bedroom.

"For in walking thro’ the Strand and Fleet Street one morning at seven o clock, I observed there was not one shop open, (though) it had been daylight and the sun up above three hours," Franklin wrote.

DST has been used in the United States and in many European countries since World War I. The U.S. formally adopted the plan on March 19, 1918.

On April 12, 1966, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson created DST on the last Sunday of April and decreed that it end the last Sunday of October; the general plan has been around since. Any state that wanted to be exempt from DST could pass a law.

Congress has revised details of the DST law since 1966, but the basic idea remains intact.

The U.S. selected 2 a.m. as the time to change clocks because that’s when, officials decided, most people are at home and, originally, the time when the fewest trains were running. The 2 a.m. change is also late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants and is less confusing than if the change occurred at midnight.

  Statistics show that DST saves lives and prevents traffic injuries. DST allows more people to travel from work and school while it is still light and therefore safer.

  Because many people get home from work and school and do errands and chores in daylight, DST seems to reduce some crime—ones that are commonly committed after dark, studies suggest.

As for the popular notion that DST is a benefit to farmers, they aren’t actually affected by DST because when farmers get up at 5 a.m. to milk cows, it’s still dark out.

Fire department officials suggest that when changing clocks for DST and then back for standard time, it’s a good idea to replace smoke alarm batteries. So get some batteries today and replace them Sunday. Don’t forget to make the changes at 2 a.m.—not a minute sooner.