Daylight Savings Time 2014: How Daylight Savings Time Started
You don't have to stay awake Sunday, Nov. 2 to set your clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. - most smartphones, tablets, computers and mobile devices switch to daylight saving time automatically. It's those pesky clocks with manual settings you'll need to worry about updating before bed: the car, microwave and stove clocks.
How Daylight Saving Time Began
Benjamin Franklin suggested daylight saving time in 1784, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. The idea was rejected until 1907 when William Willett, a British builder, proposed a similar system called British Summer Time.
The Germans were the first to adopt the light-extending system in 1915 to promote fuel-saving during World War I. A year later, the British adopted daylight saving time and the U.S. soon followed in 1918, but repealed the law in 1920 due to strong opposition by dairy farmers. Daylight saving time disrupts farmers' schedules.
The U.S. enacted daylight saving time year round during World War II to save fuel. The system has been used intermittently since, with varying start and end dates. Presently, daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.
Energy and fuel conservation is the main reason the U.S. government observes daylight saving time. In the summer, it means more sunlight at night, which decreases electricity use in homes for lighting.
Daylight Saving Time Opposition
The extra hour of sleep gained and energy savings makes daylight saving time a good thing, right? Not everyone thinks so.
Arizona is the only state in the country that does not observe daylight saving time. In 1973, the U.S. passed a law to permanently enact daylight saving time to cope with oil shortages. Arizona requested, and was granted, exemption. If Arizona were to observe daylight saving time, the sun would shine until 9 p.m. in the summer and the heat would be unbearable.
The Washington Post reports that Utah State Rep. Lee Perry (R) and Sen. Aaron Osmond (R) are campaigning for an end to daylight saving time and claim that Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana are considering an end to the practice as well.
Utah residents' number one complaint about daylight saving: children going to school in the dark. They don't like the hassle of setting clocks back an hour either.
Not everyone in Utah agrees with the ending the practice. Dick Andrew, Lagoon amusement park's vice president of marketing, stated in a letter that recreational and tourism industries would experience one less hour of significant operation and revenue per day.
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