By John Fedele
Saturday night or early Sunday I, like millions of others, will turn back my clock an hour. It’s Daylight Saving Time (DST) once again.
This is a waste of time.
I have blamed the farmers most of my life. (I was wrong) It was my favorite Pennsylvanian, Benjamin Franklin, who planted the idea in the mind of the French, while he was the minister to that country in 1784.
The whole idea was NOT to give farmers more time to plant and harvest, but to save resources, mainly gas and oil. During WWI DST was instituted for 7 months. During WWII Congress reinstated DST. An hour advancement started on February 9, 1942 and lasted until September 30, 1945. From 1945 to 1966 there was no law about DST, so states and localities were free to observe it or not.
This, however caused confusion- especially for the broadcasting industry and for trains and buses. Because of the different local customs and laws, radio and TV stations and transportation companies had to publish new schedules every time a town or state began or ended DST. This led to the uniform time act of 1966 which created DST to begin on the last Sunday of April and to end on the last Sunday in October. Of course local governments could pass ordinances to exempt themselves.
In 1986 the law was amended to begin DST on the first Sunday in April. The Arab Oil Embargo in 1973 resulted in two years of DST in an effort to save energy. As an experiment it worked, but after the crisis Congress discontinued it because of opposition- mostly from the FARMING states. During 1974-75 time frame stats were kept on energy savings, saving of lives and traffic accidents and crime prevention. Results indicated the DST had a positive effect on all three areas. The last change to DST came in 2007 as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The original bill would have added two full months, one in the spring and one in the Fall. According to some U.S. senators, FARMERS complained that a 2 month extension could adversely affect livestock, and airline officials said it would complicate scheduling international flights. A compromise was worked out to start DST on the 2nd Sunday in March and end the 1st Sunday in November.
So, in spite of the fact that DST would be more advantageous
If it were permanent, we have the FARMERS to thank for putting us through this yearly hassle, but not for the reasons I originally thought.
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