Daylight Saving Time Has Ended
By Edhat Staff
We're back to that time of year again. The holidays are looming, the air is getting a little cooler, pumpkin spice is flavored with every meal and beverage, and now we're ready to wake up to sunlight and drive home in the dark.
At 2:00 a.m. Sunday, the clocks "fell back" one hour to standard time, meaning we all get an extra hour of sleep. Unless you're a farmer who works on the sun-up and sun-down schedule, then it's all the same for you.
In Santa Barbara, the sun will rise at 6:24 a.m. and set at 5:01 p.m. on Monday for about 10.5 hours of sunlight. Here are some fast facts about this time of year
1. It's Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time
A common linguistic misstep that happens to all of us, but drop that "s" from Saving and you've got it right.
2. What's the point of "saving" daylight hours?
It started during World War I in the U.S. as an attempt to conserve energy. The theory was that shifting the number of daylight hours into the evening, the fewer time lights would need to be on, thus "saving" electricity.
3. Does it really work to save electricity?
Not really. Most analysts and studies are mixed, but they all tend to agree that a definite yes or no is unfounded. It may reduce light/electricity usage, but gas and heating use could increase, which pretty much cancels one another out.
4. Is Daylight Saving Time dangerous?
Some would say yes. Our internal/biological clocks are not fans of getting messed with, so people with pretty solid sleep schedules are disrupted and have a hard time adjusting. This could lead to drowsiness and potential mental dullness. Some studies suggest that traffic accidents increase after we spring forward, when losing one hour of sleep.
9 Comments
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Nov 05, 2017 03:47 PMIt's a wash. Might as well simplify life and ditch it.
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Nov 05, 2017 04:41 PMMy vote would be to keep daylight saving time all year.
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Nov 05, 2017 09:18 PMMe too shorebird. It’s nice for a week or two but then I miss the long days.
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Nov 06, 2017 07:38 AMNo time change works just fine in Arizona and Hawaii. I can't imagine any good reason why the whole US can't get rid of this hemmoroid on our public behind.
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Nov 06, 2017 07:46 AMDST is OK but it should be only 6 months (as in the past), April-Sept., not March-Oct. Equal time for PST.
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Nov 06, 2017 09:11 AMSHOREBIRD, During the gas crunch in the 70s they tried the all year saving time. Trouble was, kids were heading for school in the dark. Especially dangerous if they were walking or riding bikes. We had a long driveway, I had to take my children to the bottom of the hill and leave the car headlights on so the bus driver knew we were there.
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Nov 06, 2017 09:40 AMI have been against this time change for 40 years. I have actually had fibromyalgia flare-ups due to the time change as my body has a hard time adjusting to it. It is actually insane for us to continue this flaky time change. It is a nutty idea and it is time to stick to PST.
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Nov 06, 2017 10:37 AMFor commuters going east or west, DST means heading into glare twice. It's as out-of-date as bathtub gin. As for going to school by school bus, the farther north you live, the more likely it is that either you go to school in the dark or you come home in the dark. I did it for years.
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Nov 06, 2017 04:25 PMSimple--Lose it. Mother nature dictates how much daylight we get no matter how we label it.