Once again, we enter into our semi-annual lunacy here on the east coast. Tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM DST, will become 1:00 AM, EST.
New Zealander, George Hudson whose shift work job gave him leisure time to collect insects, and led him to value after-hours daylight, proposed the idea in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary did the first nationwide implementation, on April 30, 1916.
I think George has long since collected enough insects and gone to his heavenly reward. But the "bugs" still seem to want to do this. The practice benefits retailing, and professional sports club owners, whose businesses exploit sunlight after working hours. But it causes problems for outdoor entertainment and other activities tied to sunlight, such as farming.
Though it has been touted as reducing evening use of incadescent lighting, --which has now been largely replaced by more energy efficient lighting--today's heating and cooling usage patterns and methods differ greatly and the research about how DST affects energy use is limited and contradictory.
DST time changes complicates timekeeping, disrupts travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment and normal human sleep patterns.
The biggest supermoon in seventy years will be visible on November 14th. Maybe it's nature's way of telling us it's time to stop the lunacy.
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