Well, Daylight Saving Time ended today!!! This is my fifth DST shift. For Indians, like me the concept of changing time twice in a year is relatively a new concept. Even today, when I tell people back in India about this concept, they are really puzzled. The ask "Why would someone want to do that for?" To really understand this, one has to live in a place which is really, really north of the Tropics. Here you realize the actual tilt in Earth's axis. During summer, the day begins at around 5:30 AM and ends at 7:30 PM, while the nights during winter span from 6:30 PM to 8:30 AM!
Hence, the concept of daylight saving time is really nice to give you a sense of normality.
The idea of DST was first put into practice by the German government during the First World War, between April 30, 1916 and October 1, 1916. Shortly afterward, the United Kingdom followed suit, first adopting it between May 21 and October 1, 1916. On June 17, 1917 Newfoundland became the first North American jurisdiction to adopt DST with the passing of the Daylight Saving Act of 1917. On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established several time zones, which had been in use by railroads and most cities since 1883 and made DST official, effective March 31, for the remainder of World War I. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. The law, however, proved so unpopular, mostly because people rose and went to bed earlier than in current times, that it was repealed in 1919, when Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the repeal.
One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in the evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. A 1975 United States Department of Transportation study showed that DST would theoretically reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% from March to April, if implemented during these months. These numbers have been supported in Mexico, which began implementing daylight savings time in 1996. Evaluations show a national savings of 0.7% of national electric consumption (1.3 billion KWh TWh) and reduction of peak load by 500MW.
One of a good practices is that the Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors.
On a note, this will he the last time that the clock will "fall back" on the Last Sunday of October. Beginning in 2007, DST will start on the second Sunday in March, and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November.
Some Contents from Wikipedia.
Nithin Kamath
www.nithinkamath.net
Hence, the concept of daylight saving time is really nice to give you a sense of normality.
The idea of DST was first put into practice by the German government during the First World War, between April 30, 1916 and October 1, 1916. Shortly afterward, the United Kingdom followed suit, first adopting it between May 21 and October 1, 1916. On June 17, 1917 Newfoundland became the first North American jurisdiction to adopt DST with the passing of the Daylight Saving Act of 1917. On March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established several time zones, which had been in use by railroads and most cities since 1883 and made DST official, effective March 31, for the remainder of World War I. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. The law, however, proved so unpopular, mostly because people rose and went to bed earlier than in current times, that it was repealed in 1919, when Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the repeal.
One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in the evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. A 1975 United States Department of Transportation study showed that DST would theoretically reduce the country's electricity usage by 1% from March to April, if implemented during these months. These numbers have been supported in Mexico, which began implementing daylight savings time in 1996. Evaluations show a national savings of 0.7% of national electric consumption (1.3 billion KWh TWh) and reduction of peak load by 500MW.
One of a good practices is that the Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors.
On a note, this will he the last time that the clock will "fall back" on the Last Sunday of October. Beginning in 2007, DST will start on the second Sunday in March, and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November.
Some Contents from Wikipedia.
Nithin Kamath
www.nithinkamath.net
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