KTNV - In light of daylight saving time, some might wonder where this all came from.
How we came to move the clock forward in the spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale that spans more than a century — one that's driven by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a human desire to bask in the sun for a long as possible.
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.
Here are some things to know so you'll be conversant about the practice of humans changing time:
How did this all get started?
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 homebuilder 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 the United States today, every state except Hawaii and Arizona observes daylight saving time. Around the world, Europe, much of Canada and part of Australia also implement it, while Russia and Asia don’t currently.
Inconsistency and mass confusion
After World War II, a patchwork of timekeeping emerged across the United States, with some areas keeping daylight saving time and others ditching it.
“You might have one town has daylight saving time, the neighboring town might have daylight saving time but start it and end it on different dates and the third neighboring town might not have it at all,” says David Prerau, author of the book “Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.”
So in 1966, the U.S. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which says 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.
What would it be like if we didn't change the clocks?
Changing the clocks twice a year leads to a lot of grumbling, and pushes to either use standard time all year, or stick to daylight saving time all year often crop up.
During the 1970s energy crisis, the U.S. started doing daylight saving time all year long, and Americans didn't like it. With the sun not rising in the winter in some areas till around 9 a.m. or even later, people were waking up in the dark, going to work in the dark and sending their children to school in the dark, Prerau says.
”It became very unpopular very quickly," Prerau says.
And, he notes, using standard time all year would mean losing that extra hour of daylight for eight months in the evenings in the United States.
What about here in Nevada?
Springing forward may be a thing of the past if a bill pending in the Nevada Legislature passes.
The bill — Assembly Bill 81 — is dubbed "lock the clock." It would keep Nevada on standard time year-round, the same way Arizona and Hawaii are now.
AB 81's author — Assemblywoman Serena La Rue Hatch, D-Washoe County — says there are documented health problems associated with changing the clock.
"We know that in the weeks following the clock change, there are worsened health impacts," said La Rue Hatch, at a February hearing on the bill. "Strokes, heart attacks go up, digestive issues increase, medical outcomes are worsened, and in fact, many health organizations endorse permanent standard time as being more natural, more in line with our circadian rhythm and healthier for our bodies."
The time change proposal has come up in Carson City before, in both bills and resolutions, but it's never passed the full Legislature. But La Rue Hatch says her constituents have talked to hear about the issue repeatedly, which is why she's pushing hard for it this session.
If you have questions about politics, government or elections, email us using the Ask Steve link on our website.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
