Why Do We 'Spring Forward'?

On the second Sunday of every March, a majority of the countries in the Northern Hemisphere (depicted in blue below), adjust their clocks, moving them ahead an hour, a tradition that dates all the way back to World War One. Are the reasons for doing this still relevant? Keep reading to find out!

Daylight Savings Time or British Summer Time, as it is referred to in England, was first proposed by Sir Benjamin Franklin in 1784, while he was serving as a minister in Paris, France. However it was not taken into consideration until 1907, when William Willet, a British man suggested it as a way to save energy after observing that in the summer, people continued to sleep in with their blinds drawn, even when it was bright outside.

It took another nine years before it was enacted as a law in Britain. While the United States followed in two years, it was only for a short period to time as an attempt to give soldiers more light, during World War 1. The law was repealed as soon as the war was done, only to be re-instated for another three years, from 1942-1945 during World War 2.

In 1966 the law was passed permanently, and is followed by all the states except for Hawaii, American Samoa and Arizona, who opted out. This time the reasoning was that it helps save electricity and allows farmers more daylight hours to get their fresh produce to market.

In 1986, former President, Ronald Regan, extended it, by moving the time change from the last Sunday in April, to the first.

If that wasn't enough, his successor, former President, George W. Bush, moved it up even further to the second Sunday in March, and extended it out one extra week in November - all in the name of saving energy and helping farmers.

So is this really true? Well according to experts who have done many studies on energy usage patterns and the farmers, both reasons are well - baloney! The energy usage during the summer actually goes up, because while people stay out longer and go places, they use their cars, resulting in more gas usage. As for farmers? They apparently dislike this day because it gives them one less hour to not only get their produce to market, but also sell!

So why continue? - Tradition, convenience and the pleasure of having longer summer evenings! Is that reason enough to 'lose' an hour, even for a day? We certainly think so - What do you think? Be sure to add your comments below!

sources:school.studentnews.com,news.yahoo.com