Tonight we will lose an hour of sleep as our clocks "spring forward" to begin Daylight Saving Time. Technically it starts at 2 AM, so your digital clock will jump from 1:59 AM straight to 3 AM. Use this reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detector, carbon monoxide monitor, and weather radio as you set your analog clocks forward.
Practically it means the sun rises and sets later. Saturday sunrise was 7:05 AM; Sunday sunrise will be 8:04 AM. Saturday sunset was 6:43 PM; Sunday sunset will be 7:44 PM. This isn't governed by the orbit or rotation of the Earth, so it doesn't mean we are losing or gaining more daylight. It just changes the clock back an hour.
Changing the clocks is not without controversy. Many wish the clocks would be left alone. So why did we start meddling with time in the first place?
According to NASA, Benjamin Franklin is credited with the concept of Daylight Saving Time. The basic idea is to make the best use of daylight hours by shifting the clock forward in the Spring and backward in the Fall. This would save energy and electricity usage by extending daylight hours.
via Indiana State Museum
Daylight Saving Time has been in use throughout much of the United States, Canada and Europe since World War I. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed an act into law whereby Daylight Saving Time begins on the last Sunday of April and ends on the last Sunday of October each year. However, any State can opt out of Daylight Saving Time by passing a State law.
For many years, most of Indiana did not observe Daylight Saving Time with the exception of 10 counties. Beginning in 2006, all of Indiana now observes Daylight Saving Time. However, as most of you already know, the state remains divided in two time zones.
In this Thursday, March 5, 2020, photo, antique clocks are displayed at the Electric Time Company, in Medfield, Massachusetts. Most Americans will lose an hour of sleep this weekend, but gain an hour of evening light for months ahead, as Daylight Saving Time returns this weekend. The time change officially starts Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
In 2005, President Bush signed into law a new energy policy bill that would extend Daylight Saving Time by 4 weeks beginning in 2007: Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November
In this Thursday, March 5, 2020 photo, workers carry a clock, created for a New York City client, onto the testing wall at the Electric Time Company, in Medfield, Massachusetts. Most Americans will lose an hour of sleep this weekend, but gain an hour of evening light for months ahead, as Daylight Saving Time returns this weekend. The time change officially starts Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Does it Save Time & Energy?
Technically, there is no way to save daylight, but by taking advantage of the daylight that is available each day, you can save energy by not having to use as much artificial light and thus it saves money. This is the main rationale for the change in time. By every individual using one hour less of artificial light during Daylight Saving Time, a period of more than 200 days, it equates to an enormous amount of savings as a nation.
However, opponents argue that actual energy savings are inconclusive, that DST can disrupt morning activities, and that the act of changing clocks twice a year is economically, socially and even physically disruptive and cancels out any benefit. Groups that have tended to oppose DST are farmers, transportation companies, and the indoor (or darkness reliant) entertainment business.
Just a little over a month ago a bill was proposed to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. You can read about it here.
A poll last year by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 7 in 10 Americans preferred not to switch back and forth to mark daylight saving time. But there was no agreement on which time clocks ought to follow. No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
