DAYLIGHT SAVING--WHAT A JOKE!

Are we really “saving daylight” when we shift the clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall? Or are we really “saving energy?” Perhaps a more appropriate term would be “shifting daylight”.  

The concept of daylight saving (otherwise known as Summer Hours in other parts of the world) has gone in and out of favor.  There have always been proponents, touting the energy saved, and the opponents, saying that if people want to enjoy daylight, they should just get out of bed an hour earlier each day (I’m a card-carrying member of this camp!)  Not only is it disruptive to schedules—and anyone who has children or animals who don’t grasp the concept, this can be an incredibly frustrating semi-annual transition—there is some evidence that the number of accidents increase the week after a change as people adjust to the new light levels during their commute.

Hard to believe, the whole thing started out as a joke.

Beach Tale: "Fall Back"

          As I was walking Jamaica (my dog) this morning and the first rays of sunrise glistened off the bay, it occurred to me that if I wanted to see a sunrise tomorrow I would have to take my canine companion for a walk at 5 a.m. instead.  So I enjoyed my last sunrise experience, for the time being anyway, and my thoughts turned to the idea of Daylight Savings.  I had researched the concept (hoping to gain some understanding of the whacky time adjustment) a few years ago and thought this would be a great time to share what I’d learned with my loyal blog readers.