WORD ON THE STREET

Should we do away with daylight saving time?

Yes. Most people think the motive behind daylight saving time is to benefit farmers with extra sunlight so they can do more of their agricultural work, but in reality, it was first introduced by the Germans back in 1918 as a way to save fuel during WWI. It was an unpopular move to most Americans and remained inconsistent (with some states keeping it and others opting out) until 1974 when President Nixon signed it into law with the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973.  I don’t think it is particularly effective in today’s modern society where we are on our electronics all day (and night) regardless of sunrise and sunset times. I highly doubt we are really conserving any energy with this move. Chaim Druks

Yes. I find it very annoying to have to go around my house and office changing all the clocks and watches. There is always that one watch that I forget to change which makes me either really early or late. One year, I walked into shul at 7 A.M., and let’s just say it wasn’t a Shabbos vasikin minyan. I was wondering how I showed up before everyone else. I also can’t seem to remember if it is fall or spring forward. Quick tell me, which one is it?  Mendel K.

 Yes. It is especially hard on young children who come to school very tired the next day. I know many schools start an hour later, but it’s still an adjustment period. Also, for new moms there is a lot of stress in trying to maintain their babies’ baby’s nap and sleeping schedule. They have to deal with newborns getting up an hour earlier which just throws the whole day off.  Shana Korman

Who cares?! I don’t see what the big deal is. So, your internal clock is off for a few days; you will adjust.  Everyone complains about it as if it was some major life-altering change. If you don’t like it, you can move to one of the countries that don’t have DST like Japan, India, China, Guam, and Iceland.  I bet it doesn’t sound so bad now, right? Ilya Bragamov  

Yes. I’m from Brazil and I grew up on a farm and let me tell you, changing the clock doesn’t help farmers at all. We are not more productive with an extra hour of daylight because the animals have their own schedule and system. If a cow is not ready to be milked, then an hour extra hour or hour less does nothing.  The animals work when they want to work. Flora Santos

No! I need every extra hour I can get! Don’t you dare tamper with my sleep.  Devorah C.

Yes. Winters are already depressing and I find the longer evenings especially daunting. There is only so much you can do with the kids indoors for so many hours. I also hate it that when I leave the house in the morning for work it is dark, and when I come home from work in the late afternoon, it is once again dark. I feel like a vampire that never sees the light of day.  Anat Urman

Yes and no. I like it in the fall when we gain an extra hour of sleep, but I resent it in the spring when I lose sleep.   Malka B.

Some might be surprised to know that not all of America adheres to DST. For example, Arizona and Hawaii do not follow it. Indiana only started keeping it in 2006, and to all those energy conservationists out there, they found that not only did DST not preserve any energy,  it actually made the state waste MORE energy. Andrew Sanders