Sunday, November 4, 2018
ARTICLE: ABOLISH DAYLIGHT SAVING?
ABOLISH DAYLIGHT SAVING?
Article from the Farmers Almanac web page
Time to Scrap Daylight Savings? 28 Countries May End DST
New Proposals to End Daylight Time
by Catherine Boeckmann
Below is an excerpt from the article. To read the article in its entirety, click on the link above the picture.
"It’s a popular myth that Daylight Saving
Time is for farmers—a myth that some of us were taught in schools. This
practice—which only became regular in 1966 (which may also surprise
you!)—was challenged by farmers and is increasingly being challenged by
modern society. Last month, Europeans changed their clocks back to
standard time, possibly for the last time. Some states have also
questioned the practice. Read on …
When I grew up in the 1970s, I remember Daylight Saving Time (DST)
being popular. The government and schools seemed to promote it as a
positive and beneficial force. When the clocks moved forward an hour in
March, my mother would get a grumpy me out of bed and say, “Look! All
you kids have more time after school to play outside!” (As I consider
my son’s 7th grade class, I ruefully think that this was a time when
more kids played outside.)
Interestingly, DST wasn’t a regular “thing”
until April 12, 1966 when President Johnson signed it into law. The
Uniform Time Act established a system of uniform (within each time zone)
Daylight Saving Time throughout the U.S. and its possessions. States were allowed to opt out (and some did).
Before then, DST was briefly used during World War I and World War II
to conserve fuel—and then there was a short stint during the oil crisis
of the early 1970’s under Nixon. (Read more about the checkered history of Daylight Saving Time.)"
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