Low-Energy Fridays: Who’s to blame for Daylight Saving Time?
It’s hard to know exactly who to blame for Daylight Saving Time (DST). The notion that the ordinary course of nature should be disrupted twice a year by a collective resetting of the clocks is commonly attributed to British businessman (and busybody) William Willett. As the story goes, while out riding his horse one morning, he noticed that many of the common people still had their blinds down even though the sun had come up. Disturbed by this “waste of daylight,” Willett launched a campaign to adjust the clocks nationwide every spring and fall to maximize the amount of daylight people could enjoy. Liberal Parliamentarian Robert Pearce introduced the first bill to institute DST in 1908.
Given this origin, one might be inclined to dismiss DST as just another example of nanny statism run amok. As with many experiments in social engineering, DST was initially mocked and derided. (For example, Nature magazine reportedly suggested adding 10 degrees to every thermometer during winter so it wouldn’t be as cold.) Adopted as an energy saving measure during World War I, the idea behind DST is that people would use less electric light if they went to bed an hour earlier, thus saving money for the war effort. The United States also instituted DST after joining the conflict, thereby helping turn the liberal policy idea into reality.
Whether DST was actually a net energy saver is unclear; what is clear is its initial unpopularity. Dairy farmers were particularly incensed because, as it turns out, cows do not follow DST. In an era before modern refrigeration, the time shift disrupted the already complicated process of getting milk from the farm to people’s front porches. Movie theaters and other businesses also preferred earlier sunsets, as they thought it encouraged business. The backlash was so strong that the United States repealed its DST law in 1919.
Sadly, this was not the last time Americans would change their clocks. The reintroduction of DST had its origins in another great American institution: capitalism. London is five hours ahead of New York City, which, at the time, meant both cities’ stock exchanges were open simultaneously for one hour. This would be advantageous for traders, except that the United Kingdom had not abolished DST after the end of World War I—meaning London and New York were six hours apart for a good portion of the year with no such overlap. New York City returned to DST to preserve the advantage, leading surrounding areas to adopt it as well to avoid confusion. DST eventually spread throughout the United States via the Uniform Time Act of 1966, with only a few states such as Arizona opting out.
Despite its widespread adoption, DST remains controversial. In January 1974, Congress passed legislation mandating a trial period of year-round DST to help conserve fuel following the 1973 oil embargo. The unpopular move—which, among other unintended consequences, forced children to wait for the school bus in the dark on winter mornings—was reversed later that year. More recently, President Trump has advocated for abolishing clock-switching and backed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would again institute year-round DST. Although the act passed the House of Representatives this summer by a vote of 308-117, it has stalled in the Senate. Unfortunately, as with the changing of the clocks itself, battles over DST are likely to remain a recurring, painful feature of American political life.