Spring Ahead!

Daylight saving time arrives early

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Daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. on March 11, 2007.  (Photo: Courtesy of Deutsch Presse Agentur/NewsCom)

This Sunday marks the start of daylight saving time, when we adjust our clocks to allow more daylight in the evening hours. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, we change our clocks to read 3 a.m.—jumping ahead one hour. This year’s daylight saving time is different from that in recent years because it starts three weeks early.

The system of daylight saving time allows the country to save electricity. When the sun is still up later in the day, fewer people have to have their lights on. Cutting down on electricity means saving energy and money.

From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October. Two years ago, as part of the government’s new energy plan, Congress changed the starting and ending date for daylight saving time.

That change, which goes into effect this year, makes daylight saving time stretch an extra four weeks. It begins the second week in March and will last until the first week in November.

While most of us will have no problem adjusting our bedroom or kitchen clocks, we may own devices that will encounter glitches once the time changes on Sunday. For example, some electronic devices use software that was created before Congress passed the new law affecting the start date of daylight saving time.

Computer users may run into trouble with faulty computer clocks that don’t make the switch automatically. Both Microsoft and Apple are offering updates on their Web sites.

“It’s a massive amount of work to get everything in order,” Kim Stevenson, a vice president at Electronic Data Systems (a large technology firm) told The New York Times.

Saving Energy

Daylight saving time in the United States began in 1918 under President Woodrow Wilson. It was so unpopular with Americans that they got rid of it one year later.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt brought daylight saving time back during World War II in order to save energy at home while troops were fighting in Europe. Since then, it has always been in effect, but the start and end dates change from time to time.

While most countries of Europe change their clocks, they won’t be making the switch for another two weeks, beginning on March 25. Not every country observes daylight saving time, though. Most of Asia, Africa, and South America do not change their clocks.

 

Critical Thinking Question

Read today's news story, and then answer the following question.

What do you think is good about having more daylight in the evening hours?

Join a discussion of this question on our bulletin board.

 

Ezra Billinkoff is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.

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