Daylight Savings Time - Do We Really Need It?
Every year in spring clocks in many countries around the world are set forward in order to get more daylight when people come home in the evening. On the other side it is generally darker in the morning. Daylight savings time, or summer time as it is called in many European countries, dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In modern times more countries started applying it in the 1970s , when governments wanted to save money during the energy crisis.
Since then daylight savings time has been , more or less, used in almost all European countries and in North America. There have been discussions going on since then. Those in favor of the time adjustment say that they can get more things done after work in the evening. They can spend more of their free time outdoors - exercising, enjoying hobbies or merely sitting outside on a warm summer evening. On the other side, those who oppose summer time say that it does not save energy at all. It can also lead to a change of living patterns, for example, in agriculture, where farmers cannot feed their animals in the usual way. Some doctors say that people have trouble getting used to a time change. It interferes with their sleeping patterns and sometimes even affects their health.
In the northern hemisphere, where it is used most, daylight savings time begins in March or April. In September or October the clocks are set back to the normal time. In Africa and most parts of Asia time changes during the year do not exist.
Related Topics
- Seasons - Causes and Effects on our Weather
- Longitude, Latitude and Time Zones
- Flashes of Light May Cure Jet Lag
Words
- adjustment = change
- affect = influence, change
- agriculture = farming
- apply = use
- century = a hundred years
- date back = start
- in favor of = to be for something
- interfere = to get involved in a way that you do not want
- oppose = to be against