Why Daylight Savings?

Each year in November and March a funny thing happens with our clocks and the amount of sun you get during the day. But this journalist is wondering why? So I did some investigative work and asked around. Here are my findings.

Daylight Savings Time is when our clocks move one hour forward in the Spring, to provide more hours of sunlight in the summer and early fall months. In November, the clocks move one hour backward to return to normal time.

Not all countries experience this event. The countries that follow this are most of Europe, most U.S. states (except Hawaii and Arizona), most of Canada, Mexico, Caribbean nations, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Falkland Islands, parts of Brazil, and most of Oceania.

This journalist then wondered, has anyone ever tried to change this? Yes, in 1974 the U.S. experienced an oil crisis and in response, tried year round DST. It was very unpopular due to dark winter mornings. Congress changed it back in October 1974. What about in the present day this journalist wondered? Some states have passed laws to make permanent standard time or DST time, but they have to get passed by congress.

Pros of keeping DST:

• More evening light

• Businesses can stay open longer

• Safety

• Cons of keeping DST:

• Productivity Loss

• Health Disruptions

• Inconvenience