Daylight Savings Time Spring Forward Saturday Night 3-9-24 at 2 am

Remember as a kid, spring forward and fall backwards? It is near spring so guess what? Tonight we lose an hours sleep and spring forward!

In the 1890s, George Vernon Hudson, an astronomer and entomologist in New Zealand, proposed a time shift in the spring and fall to increase the daylight. And in the early 1900s, British home builder William Willett, troubled that people weren’t up enjoying the morning sunlight, made a similar push. But neither proposal gained enough traction to be implemented.

Germany began using daylight saving time during World War I with the thought that it would save energy. Other countries, including the United States, soon followed suit. During World War II, the U.S. once again instituted what was dubbed “war time” nationwide, this time year-round.

In 1966, the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which say states can either implement daylight saving time or not, but it has to be statewide. The act also mandates the day that daylight saving time starts and ends across the country.

A number of states have already switched to permanent standard or daylight saving time, but just about every state has at least considered legislation in recent years that would end the clock changes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Hawaii and Arizona are the two states on permanent standard time, along with the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Oregon lawmakers made a last push to join them this year, with the state Senate passing a bill to end daylight saving time in favor of year-round standard time. The bill, which would have also required California and Washington to follow suit, stalled in the House.

While it’s legal for states to adopt standard time, federal law prohibits a change to permanent daylight saving time in accordance with the 1966 Uniform Time Act.

In 2018, Florida became the first state to pass a law making daylight saving time permanent, pending a change in federal law. The following states have enacted similar resolutions or legislation since, according to the NCSL: Colorado, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.

Californians voted to authorize such a change but the NCSL isn’t counting the state because “legislative action is pending.”

A recent poll found that the majority of Americans want to stop changing their clocks twice a year, but should standard or daylight saving time reign supreme?

While springing the clocks forwardis a jolt to our system, the extra daylight gets people outdoors, exercising and having fun, which is good for physical and mental health.

There’s been plenty of debate over the practice, but about 70 countries about 40% of those across the globe currently use what Americans call daylight saving time.

Since most of us are now linked to our cell phones the time will change automatically for most of us.

But for those other clock,s around the house to include grandmas Grandfather Clock, don't forget to set their times forward when you goi to bed this evening and brew extra coffee in the morning for the lost hour of sleep!

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