Important Changes to Daylight Savings Time

[NinjaSteve]

So I got this email the other day and thought I'd share.

As you may know the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by the U.S. Congress July, 2005, extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S. by approximately four weeks. As a result, beginning in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier on March 11, 2007, and end one week later on November 4, 2007, resulting in a new DST period that is four weeks longer than previously observed.

As a result many computer systems require patching or updates of some kind in order to reflect this change. Since most of you use Microsoft Windows I am including a link http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst to the Microsoft website that will guide you through updating your computer. If you use Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, or Vista you only require a simple patch to complete this. If you run an earlier version of the Windows operating system Microsoft is not releasing an update to correct DST. Also if you use Microsoft Outlook there is an additional tool that must be run in order to reset your appointments in the extended Daylight Savings Time period.

If you use another calendaring program or use a PDA these also require updates in order to function correctly during the extended Daylight Savings Time period. I suggest you visit the website for the manufacturer and look for updates for you particular device or program.

[Rochard]

Yeah, Playboy has already released a patch for us.

Can someone explain why daylight savings time is needed? They don't have it in Phoenix and they seem fine without it.

[RuthB]

Yeah, we were told about that and as a result WEGCash has already made changes so that this will have no effect on our servers, sites and signups.

[RuthB]

Originally Posted by Rochard

Yeah, Playboy has already released a patch for us.

Can someone explain why daylight savings time is needed? They don't have it in Phoenix and they seem fine without it.

well it used to be so that farmers would have more daylight hours to harvest their crop, but as to why they still have it in this day and age.. I would imagine it's probably just out of habit

[Angelo22]

Its to save up on energy cost.

[NinjaSteve]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_savings

Origin

Saving daylight was first mentioned in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin in a satirical essay[1] urging Parisians to get up earlier in order to use sunlight, thus saving wax by not burning candles at night, in the spirit of his proverb "Early to bed and early to rise / Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."[2] Franklin did not mention Daylight Saving Time—he did not propose that clock time be changed.

DST was first seriously proposed in 1907 by William Willett,[3] but he was unable to get the British government to adopt it, despite considerable lobbying.

DST was first put into practice by a national government in Germany 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 formally established several time zones, which had been in use by railroads and most cities since 1883; at the same time it established DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The law, however, proved so unpopular, mostly because it obliged people to rise and go to bed earlier than had become customary since the advent of electricity, that it was repealed after 1919, when Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the repeal.

Observation of DST

In a typical case where a one-hour shift occurs at 02:00 local time, in spring the clock jumps forward from 01:59:59.999… to 03:00 and that day is 23 hours long, whereas in autumn the clock jumps backward from 01:59:59.999… to 01:00, repeating that hour, and the day is 25 hours long. A one hour clock shift is customary, but Lord Howe Island uses a half-hour shift, and twenty-minute and two-hour shifts have occurred in the past.

Clock shifts typically occur near a weekend midnight to lessen disruption to weekday schedules. In some jurisdictions, such as California, bars are required to close at 02:00, which is when the clock shift occurs, leaving bars open for an extra hour once a year—one of the few direct commercial effects. Hospitals and other 24/7 operations change their clocks but remain open.

Start and end dates and times vary with location and year. Starting in 2007, most of the United States and Canada observe DST from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, with transitions typically at 02:00 local time. The 2007 U.S. change was part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; previously, from 1987 through 2006, the start and end dates were the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October, and Congress retains the right to go back to the previous dates once an energy consumption study is done. Since 1996 the European Union has observed DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, with transitions at 01:00 UTC.

Beginning and ending dates are switched in the southern hemisphere. For example, mainland Chile observes DST from the second Saturday in October to the second Saturday in March, with transitions at 24:00 local time. The time difference between the United Kingdom and mainland Chile may therefore be three, four, or five hours, depending on the date.

Argentina, Iceland, Saskatchewan and other areas skew time zones westward, in effect observing DST year round without complications from DST shifts. The United Kingdom and Ireland experimented with year-round DST from 1968 to 1971 but abandoned it due to its unpopularity, particularly in the north.[4] Alaska, France, Spain and other areas both skew time zones and shift clocks, in effect observing double (or more) DST in summer.

DST is generally not observed in the tropics, where day lengths do not vary enough to justify it.

[SxDx]

more daylight = very good

[interracialtoons]

But wouldn't all this extra sun light burn up my grass?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by interracialtoons

But wouldn't all this extra sun light burn up my grass?

not if you water at night

[pornguy]

I love the longer days.