I hate Daylight Saving Time.  I hate the fact that we, as the human species, are the only living creatures that find it necessary to keep track of time, and when we do, to make adjustments to it twice a year.  Sure, it’s great to have an extra hour of time in the fall, but in our limited foresight, we fail to understand the havoc it causes in the spring when we lose an hour of sleep.  However, Congress, in their infinite wisdom, has elected to keep Daylight Saving Time and force us to suffer through this practice year after year.

As of 2009, 131 countries have seen the light and have chosen not to observe DST.  Unfortunately, 148 countries still follow the archaic practice, believing that observation of DST results in lower energy usage, lower traffic fatalities, lower crime rates, and forces us to remember to change the batteries in our smoke detectors.  Of those countries that have chosen to follow DST, not all follow it in a consistent manner, even the United States.  Some locations, like Arizona, have come to their senses and have refused to follow the lemmings off this cliff.  Are they any worse off because of it?

What DST proponents fail to mention, is that the energy savings are disputable and even the farmers dislike the clock change.  The farmers?  But isn’t that the whole reason we started this?  Unfortunately for the farmers, because grain harvesting is best done after the dew evaporates, having your field hands arrive and leave earlier on a farm is a bad thing!  Furthermore, because we have fixed work schedules, a clock shift disrupts our circadian rhythms and causes a reduction in worker efficiency.  I’m not sure about you, but that cup of coffee on the first morning after the clock change forward certainly isn’t strong enough to justify it year after year.

Beyond the scientific reasons why a clock change is a bad thing, what about the unscientific aspects?  Who really enjoys having to change 15 clocks around a typical house every half year?  Not only do you need to change your main alarm clock to wake up at the correct time, but you need to remember to change the clock in your car, on your coffee maker, and even on your thermostat.  And forget about that 50 pound antique clock hanging on your wall.  You know that once you get it down, change the time, and hang it back up that it is guaranteed to be a few minutes off, requiring you to spend ten minutes puttering with it just to get it back to the correct time.

Of all the clocks to change, perhaps the hardest clock to reset is that of small children.  Take my two-year-old daughter as an example.  She has a very well established bedtime and morning routine.  It has taken us the past four months to finally have her wake up before I leave for work, allowing me the chance to say goodbye to her each morning.  Now, after shifting our clocks forward an hour, I will leave for work over the next several months before she wakes up.  Bedtime is a complete mess.  Try getting an impatient two-year-old to stay quiet in a bed when there is still light outside her bedroom window.  Sure, the clock says it is time for bed, but she knows better than that.

So I have a proposal for the entire world.  How about we call a truce and each set our clocks 30 minutes ahead in the spring and call it even?