DST
in Parliament: William Willett first proposed
his idea in the British Parliament as the Daylight
Saving Bill of 1908, and he fought for years to introduce
the concept in Britain. There was very strong opinion
on both sides. Among the many supporters were Winston
Churchill, who gave a rousing pro-DST speech at Guildhall,
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and astronomer Sir Robert
Ball. But there was strong opposition from farmers,
many scientists, and others. Willett was relentless
in his pursuit of daylight saving time (later called
summer time), but repeated attempts to pass a bill
in Parliament all failed. He died never seeing his
idea come to fruition.
World
War I: During World War I, DST was first
adopted in Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany, which was quickly
followed by Britain and by European countries on both
sides of the war, and eventually, America. Daylight
replaced artificial lighting and saved precious fuel
for the war effort.
Post–World
War I: Britain continued summer time each
year after the War ended, but many countries discontinued
its use. American farmers defeated urban dwellers
and President Woodrow Wilson to get DST repealed,
returning the U. S. to “God's Time.” Spotty
and inconsistent use of daylight saving time in the
United States and around the world caused problems,
unusual incidents and, occasionally, tragedies. For
example, disregard of a change to DST caused a major
train wreck in France, killing two and injuring many.
World
War II: All combatants on both sides quickly
adopted DST to save vital energy resources for the
War. The United Kingdom extended summer for the entire
year and later added double summer time (two hours
advanced) in the summers. The U.S. enacted FDR's year-round
DST law just 40 days after Pearl Harbor was attacked.
After
World War II: When World War II ended,
some countries abandoned their wartime DST while
others continued it into the postwar years. Britain
reverted to its prewar policy of summer DST, except
during a fuel crisis in 1947 when it temporarily
utilized double DST.
Chaos
in the U. S. and the High Cost of Non-Uniform DST,
1960s: Widespread confusion was created
when each U. S. locality could start and end DST
as it desired. One year, 23 different pairs of DST
start and end dates were used in Iowa alone. And
on one West Virginia bus route, passengers had to
change their watches seven times in 35 miles! The
situation led to millions of dollars of costs to
several industries, especially transportation and
communications. Extra railroad timetables alone
cost the equivalent today of over $12 million per
year.
BST,
1968-70: The
U.K. experimented with year-round summer time, called
British Standard Time (BST), for three years, from
1968 through 1970. Opposition from Northerners,
farmers, and others led to the end of BST, even
though some studies showed economic advantages and
decreases in road accidents and energy costs.
Oil
Embargo, 1973: The Arab Oil Embargo caused
the first prolonged peacetime energy shortage in the
United States. President Richard Nixon and Congress
quickly established year-round daylight saving time
to save energy. The U. S. Department of Transportation
found that with almost no cost as compared to other
energy conservation options, DST reduced the national
electrical load in the U.S. by over 1%, saving 3,000,000
barrels of oil each month. After the crisis was over,
the U.S. reverted to six months of DST, from May through
October. This period was extended in 1986 to include
April.
Proposals
for Single/Double Summer Time, late 1980s-present:
Harmonization with Europe’s time was proposed
by having summer time in the winter and double summer
time in the summer, sometimes called Single/Double
Summer Time. Favored by many businesses and others,
studies showed it would reduce road deaths and injuries.
Scottish MPs led opposition, and no bill ever passed
Uniformity
in Europe, 1996: After
many years of non-uniformity of DST policy in Europe,
especially between the Continent and the U.K., the
European Union including the U.K. adopted a summer
time period from the last Sunday in March to the last
Sunday in October.
Extension
in the U. S., 2005, 2007: As
part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U. S. DST
period was extended by about one month, commencing
2007. October 29, 2006 was the last time that
the U.S. and U.K. both moved their clocks on the same
date. Since then, the U.S. has commenced DST two or
three weeks before the U.K. (and the rest of the E.U.) and ended one week later.
Parliamentary
Debate, 2005-present: In 2005, Lord Simon Tanlaw
introduced in the House of Lords the Lighter Evenings
(Experiment) Bill, which would advance time an
additional hour in summer and winter (giving summer
time in the winter and double summer time in the summer)
for a trial period of three years. The bill applied
to England, with the Scottish Parliament, the National
Assembly in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly
given the power to "opt-in" to the change
with respect to their areas. The Bill was passed by
the House of Lords in May 2006, but did not reach
a vote in the House of Commons. Later in 2006, Tim
Yeo MP drew second place in the Private Members Bill
ballot, and introduced a similar bill, the Energy
Saving (Daylight) Bill. Second Reading on the
bill was on January 26, 2007, but the Government allowed
opponents to talk the the Bill out, so that it ran
out of Parliamentary time. In 2008, David Kidney MP
brought up the issue again in Parliament, but the Government
remained unconvinced of the case for change. In late 2010,
Rebecca Harris MP introduced The Daylight Saving Bill, which called on the Government to conduct
a full analysis of the potential costs and benefits of advancing the clock one hour in
winter and summer, and then carry out a three year trial of Single/Double Summer Time if appropriate.
The Bill received strong support from
environmental, motoring, and tourism groups, but opponents,
especially in Scotland, were concerned over dangers and problems caused by darker mornings.
The Bill passed its second reading by 92 votes to 10 in December 2010, and proponents and opponents
argued its merits throughout 2011. In January 2012, a group of MPs combined to stop the Bill,
speaking at length to ensure that the Bill ran out of time. Since then, proposals for changes to the
Summer Time system have been made from time to time, but none has gotten close to approval..
Numerous
Other Effects: Daylight saving time has affected
an immense breadth of people, places, policies, and
activities. For a deeper glimpse into daylight saving
time's wide reaching impacts, view
the Index
Current
Observance of Daylight Saving Time
Worldwide:
William Willett would be happy to know that daylight
saving time is now employed in about seventy countries
around the world, including almost every major industrialized
nation. It affects well over a billion people each
year.
In several other countries, there is current debate
about adopting DST. Sunrises, sunsets, and day lengths
of countries near the equator do not vary much during
the year, but even in such countries DST is sometimes
utilized, especially for energy conservation.
United
Kingdom and European Union: A summer time
period of seven months is utilized:
1
a.m. UTC/GMT on the last Sunday in March
to
1 a.m. UTC/GMT on the last Sunday in October
The Summer Time Period in the United Kingdom
and the European Union:
For
2005, from Sunday March 27 to Sunday October 30.
For 2006, from Sunday March 26 to Sunday October
29.
For 2007, from Sunday March 25 to Sunday October
28.
For 2008, from Sunday March 30 to Sunday October
26.
For 2009, from Sunday March 29 to Sunday October
25.
For 2010, from Sunday March 28 to Sunday October
31.
For 2011, from Sunday March 27 to Sunday October
30.
For 2012, from Sunday March 25 to Sunday October
28.
For 2013, from Sunday March 31 to Sunday October
27.
For 2014, from Sunday March 30 to Sunday October
26.
For 2015, from Sunday March 29 to Sunday October
25.
For 2016, from Sunday March 27 to Sunday October
30.
For 2017, from Sunday March 26 to Sunday October
29.
For 2018, from Sunday March 25 to Sunday October
28.
For 2019, from Sunday March 31 to Sunday October
27.
For 2020, from Sunday March 29 to Sunday October
25.
United
States: In the United States from 1987 through
2006, a daylight saving time period of almost seven
months was in effect: from 2 a.m. on the first Sunday
in April to 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.
A law passed in 2005 extended the U.S. daylight saving
time period by about one month, beginning in 2007.
Thus for 2007 and beyond, the daylight saving time
period is:
2
a.m. on the second Sunday in March
to
2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November
Currently, the entire country observes this DST period
of almost eight months, except for the states of Arizona
and Hawaii, and the U. S. insular areas of Puerto
Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and
Guam--all of which have chosen to stay on standard
time all year.
The DST Period in the United States:
For
2005, from Sunday April 3 to Sunday October 30.
For 2006, from Sunday April 2 to Sunday October
29.
For 2007, from Sunday March 11 to Sunday November
4.
For 2008, from Sunday March 9 to Sunday November
2.
For 2009, from Sunday March 8 to Sunday November
1.
For 2010, from Sunday March 14 to Sunday November
7.
For 2011, from Sunday March 13 to Sunday November
6.
For 2012, from Sunday March 11 to Sunday November
4.
For 2013, from Sunday March 10 to Sunday November
3.
For 2014, from Sunday March 9 to Sunday November
2.
For 2015, from Sunday March 8 to Sunday November
1.
For 2016, from Sunday March 13 to Sunday November
6.
For 2017, from Sunday March 12 to Sunday November
5.
For 2018, from Sunday March 11 to Sunday November
4.
For 2019, from Sunday March 10 to Sunday November
3.
For 2020, from Sunday March 8 to Sunday November
1.
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