Daylight Saving Time Paper #5

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                                                                  Should We Turn Back Time?

Daylight Saving Time is loved by some, hated by others and tolerated by most. Arizona
and Hawaii residents do not have to think about it.   These states are exempt from the time
change problem. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 made Daylight Saving Time a federal law that
exempts only the states that voted to keep Standard Time.   The problems created by Daylight
Saving Time outweigh any benefits of energy savings, if those savings really exist. There is little
or no evidence of energy savings from the time changes. The time has come to set the clock
and leave it there. It is time to end Daylight Saving Time.
Standard time was made necessary by the United States and Canada railway schedules
of 1883. Daylight Saving Time was used in World War I to conserve fuel needed to produce
electric power. After the war ended the law was repealed. Daylight Saving Time became an
option that a few states continued to utilize. World War II brought Daylight Saving Time back
into practice, only to be discontinued when the war was over. Daylight Saving Time supporters
believe the energy and money savings are real. Even Congress passed a law to reinforce
Daylight Saving Time as a critical energy saver.   The annual time changes are based on the
premise of saving energy and money.
However, most studies on this subject have found that energy consumption increases
rather than decreases. In “Time to Fall Back From Daylight Savings Time”, William Shugart II


                                                                                                                                                              2
presented the results of a study from the University of California that “…showed a small but
nevertheless statistically significant increase in residential electricity demand during the
months when Daylight Saving Time was in... [continues]

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