DST, revisited

i know i'm in the vast minority here, not being "sunnier" during Daylight Saving Time. Ben Franklin oringinally only conceived of it for a few months, and then in jest -- actually he was proposing that people change their habits (getting up earlier and going to bed earlier) rather than changing the clock. William Willett was the first to propose what we think of as DST, but had difficulty getting the brits to take him seriously.

The Germans had no problem with the idea, however odd it might have seemed, and adopted the measure during the first world war. The UK followed suit that same year (1916), and then two years later the US did as well, also codifying the time zones. The original DST in the US began in late March and lasted seven months during 1918 and 1919,but was repealed due to overwhelming unpopularity.

By 1966, some 100 million Americans were observing Daylight Saving Time based on their local laws and customs. Congress decided to step in and end the confusion, and established one pattern across the country. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S. Code Section 260a), signed into Public Law 89-387 on April 12, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson, created Daylight Saving Time to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday of October. Any State that wanted to be exempt from Daylight Saving Time could do so by passing a state law. [This proviso for allowing states to opt out of federal edicts is a trend we can discuss in another post.]

The oil embargo of 1973 left lots of US citizens thinking about energy, and a study was done showing that DST saved energy. I can't find a link to it, so take it as a random piece from my brain. I also remember that before DST was amended in 1986 to include the first sunday in April that the tourism industry lobbied for this move as well, citing evidence that people were more likely to spend more money on sunny evenings.

then we have the law from last year. yup, energy once again, and now we're back to that original seven months on thing. i'm glad the rest of you find it to be the sunny side of the street. for my part, i find it irksome.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by Congress and then signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005. Under the new law, Daylight Saving Time begins three weeks earlier than previously, on the second Sunday in March. DST is extended by one week to the first Sunday in November. The new start and stop period begins March 2007.

The original House bill would have added two full months, one in the spring and another in the fall. According to some U.S. senators, farmers complained that a two-month extension could adversely affect livestock, and airline officials said it would have complicated scheduling of international flights. So, a compromise was worked out to start DST on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November.

Enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 will not alter the rights of the states and territories to choose not to observe Daylight Saving Time.

There's a book that is coming out regarding it, and there is enough hoo-hah surrouding the issue that I think i'll need a copy of Sieze the Daylight. It not only has a great title, it has a website, too.

Thanks to Cormac for the inspiration.