A pet peeve I have is that every time we have a time change, people complain about Daylight Savings Time.
I actually saw an online petition to abolish DST. People complain about it getting dark earlier now that its "DST."
People, people, people.
When we 'fell' back this weekend we returned to Standard Time. This is what it would be like in November if we abolished DST. It is a naturally occurring seasonal change due to our trip around the sun.
I think the problem is really that people actually like DST and would like to do away with the return to ST. However, it still would get darker earlier at this time of year due to where the earth is in our yearly spin around the sun.
I think another problem people have is just losing or gaining that hour. For adults it really means less sleep. We tend to stay up and use that 'gained' hour, and when we spring forward and lose an hour in the spring, we still don't go to bed early.
The real problem is for those with small children who sleep and wake by body clock. Those little people were up before the sun yesterday, because their body clocks said it was time to get up!
Benjamin Franklin proposed DST back in the early years of our country's founding. When congress actually passed it, it was with the idea that farmers, especially, would have an extra hour of daylight for working in their fields.
Now days, farmers use GPS and the tractors have headlights so they are out working in the fields long after the sun has gone down anyway.
I personally would be okay with doing away with DST. I like Standard Time. I don't mind it getting dark early. For me, its a chance to turn on ambient lighting, have some delicious meal ready for the family as they all return home, and for us all to get cozy and relax together in the evening.
Daylight Savings with it staying light later, tends to keep us busier and on the run, because its still light out.
Regardless if we keep DST or just stay on Standard Time, I think what we all want is to not go back and forth. Let's just keep one, and my vote is to keep the one that is the natural cycle of light and dark during the year.
What about you? Which do you prefer? Also did you know that some states don't do DST? Arizona and Hawaii, and part of Indiana. And some territories like Puerto Rico, and Samoa.
