Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time (also called DST, or summer time) is the portion of the year in which a region's local time is advanced by (usually) one hour from its official standard time. It is most common in temperate regions.

Criticism of DST

DST is not universally accepted; many localities do not observe it. Opponents claim that there is not enough benefit to justify needing to adjust clocks twice every year. The disruption in sleep patterns associated with setting clocks forward, and thereby "losing" an hour, correlates with a spike in the number of severe auto accidents, as well as emotional trauma and lost productivity as tired workers adjust to the schedule change. It is also noted that much effort is spent reminding everyone twice a year of the change, and thousands are inconvenienced by showing up at the wrong time when they forget.

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There is also a question whether the savings in lighting costs justifies the increase in summertime air conditioning costs. While most people use more sunlight under DST, most people also experience more heat, which prompts many people to turn on the air conditioner during the warmer afternoon hours. When air conditioning was not widely available, the change did save energy; however, air conditioning is much more widespread now than it was several decades ago. Air conditioning often uses more energy than artificial lighting. It was for this reason that Arizona rejected DST and opted to stay on standard time all year.

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It is also speculated that one of the benefits, more afternoon sun, would also actually increase energy consumption as people get into their cars to enjoy more time for shopping and the like.

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No formal studies have been performed, but an enormous amount of time has been spent by software developers to deal with the fact that 2400 hours past 2pm is not necessarily 2pm 100 days later.

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Some campaigners in Britain would like the country to stay on British Summer Time (BST) all year round, or in other words, adopt Central European Time and abolish BST. Alternatively, some would like Britain to adopt Central European Time and jump forward another hour during the summer (adopting a Single/Double Summer Time from Britain's perspective). This would make winter evenings longer, thereby reducing traffic accidents and cases of seasonal affective disorder. Opponents point to the longer hours of darkness on winter mornings, especially in Scotland, which might well cause an increase in road accidents. It has even been suggested that Scotland should be placed on a different time zone from the rest of the UK, which, unlikely though it may sound, would be possible as the UK Parliament could legislate to put the UK forward an hour, and then the Scottish Parliament could put Scotland back onto GMT.

Related Topics:
Britain - British Summer Time - Central European Time - Seasonal affective disorder - Scotland - Time zone - UK Parliament - Scottish Parliament

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DST is particularly unpopular among people working in agriculture because the animals do not observe it, and thus the people are placed out of synchronization with the rest of the community, including school times, broadcast schedules, and the like.

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Canadian author Robertson Davies, in The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks (1947), wrote the following: "I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind ... At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme, I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy, and wise in spite of themselves."

Related Topics:
Robertson Davies - The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks - 1947

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