Farmers' Almanac Proposes a REAL Daylight SAVING Time Idea

Have you ever wondered how the whole business of falling back and springing forward got started? Benjamin Franklin, editor of Poor Richard’s Almanack, came up with the idea of daylight saving, when he wrote about the economy of natural versus artificial light in an essay, An Economical Project.

But, although Franklin came up with the idea in 1784, DST was not used in the US until more than a hundred years later. First implemented during World War I, it served as a means to save fuel. It was observed again nationally during World War II. But it wasn’t until the Uniform Time Act of 1966 that DST was mandated nationwide—to begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October.

As Franklin first conceived of it, the idea of daylight saving is to take best advantage of natural light. What began as one almanac editor’s idea is again being raised by the almanac editors of today.

Many people do enjoy the ability to do more in the evenings thanks to DST. But our mornings may be less safe—especially for school children and drivers—due to DST. Next year, DST is being extended. As a result of President Bush’s signing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the dates for daylight saving time (DST) in the US have been changed.

Starting in 2007, DST will begin on Sunday, March 11 and end on Sunday, November 4. More than two thirds of the year (245 days) will be in DST. Supporters of the change claim it will save the equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil per day. But others question the accuracy of the energy-savings claim (based on US Department of Energy statistics from the early ‘70s).

Will this change to DST really save energy and daylight? Or will it cause a lot of headaches?

Next year’s change to DST will require a reconfiguration of virtually every computer in the US.

The Farmers’ Almanac, which is dedicated to advancing a lifestyle more in tune with nature, is proposing a better schedule for DST.

The Farmers’ Almanac believes that the primary aim of DST should be to capture the maximum amount of daylight without causing more morning darkness. Civil twilight becomes an important consideration in this regard.

Astronomers define civil twilight as the period before sunrise or after sunset when enough illumination still exists to be able to work outside. At the median latitude for the US (40º North)—civil twilight generally starts about a half hour before sunrise and ends about a half hour after sunset. If we assume that most people arise at 6 am, then DST should be implemented in the first week of April, when the start of civil twilight will coincide with that rising time.

The astronomical conditions corresponding to early April occur in the first week of September. Logically, that is when clocks should be set back one hour to standard time. However, it makes more sense for the change to occur on the second Sunday in September, so as not to conflict with the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Read the 2007 Farmers’ for more in-depth information about DST and the Farmers’ Almanac proposal to utilize civil twilight. Be sure to go to www.FarmersAlmanac.com, where you can share your opinion about once again changing DST, and cast your vote for your favorite plan.