It’s called "Daylight Saving Time"; not "Daylight Savings Time". Yeah, I know, it sounds weird the correct way, right?
This year will be the first time since the early 1970s that the state of Indiana has observed Daylight Saving Time. Some counties observed it in the past but most did not. (By the way, China has only one time zone, which means that 9:00 a.m. could be morning in one part of the country, and the middle of the afternoon in another. Weird.)
Ben Franklin was one of the first to suggest the idea of DST. He wrote about it in a toungue-in-cheek letter in 1784, but it wasn’t until WWI that Daylight Saving was actually put in place, to help save energy.
After the 1973 energy crisis, the U.S. went on extended Daylight Saving Time for 1974-75. A Department of Transportation study found that observing DST in March and April saved 10,000 barrels of oil a day, prevented 2,000 traffic injuries and saved $28 million in traffic costs. In 1976, the U.S. returned to the previously observed schedule, after public opposition to late winter sunrises.
But we’re going to do it again. In 2007, the DST period will start earlier (March 11) and end later (November 4). This is part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and this is only a test. Based on results, Congress can choose to revert to the previous schedule, which was set in 1986.
