Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinSE
You are right, I found this:
"Congress had voted on December 14, 1973, to put the US on daylight saving time for two years. President Nixon signed the bill the next day. The US had gone to permanent daylight saving time before, during World War II. Then, too, the measure was enacted to save fuel. "
Apparently everyone wanted it, and then hated it.
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Nixon’s Daylight Savings Time Still Controversial After 44 Years
A couple notes from the article:
The most important analysis regarding the effectiveness of DST regarding energy use is a 2008 National Bureau of Economic Research study that found “contrary to the policy’s intent — DST increases residential electricity demand” by about 1 percent. Although DST reduced demand for lighting, demand for heating and cooling dramatically increased.
Many health and safety experts also have a negative opinion of Daylight Savings Time. According to the “Fatal Accident Reporting System,” there is a 17 percent increase in traffic fatalities on the Monday after the shift and fatal motor vehicle accidents remained elevated for the first six days after the clocks spring ahead. A recent medical study indicates that DST time change may also increase the risk of stroke due to sleep disturbances.