By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Much of the U.S. will spring forward three weeks earlier this year.
As part of a federal energy bill passed in 2005 clocks will be moved ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday instead of the traditional first Sunday in April.
Clocks will fall back one hour Nov. 4 instead of Oct. 28, providing an extra four weeks of daylight saving time.
"The bottom line is we did it because of energy savings," said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., of St. Joseph, who co-sponsored the bill with Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Ed Markey.
Added Upton, "We deliberately delayed implementation until now to allow the [information technology] industry to work on their computers."
Upton said many farmers strongly opposed daylight saving time when it was implemented year round in the mid-1970s in response to the energy crisis, but added he heard little dissent with the most recent action. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, he added.
"I actually talked to the farm bureau in Cass County … and they told me they had no objection to what we did," Upton said.
According to Department of Transportation figures provided by Upton's office, extending daylight in the 1970s saved the energy equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil a day, or one percent of the nation's energy consumption. Upton said the actual savings should be even higher now given the extra time that people will spend under sunlight and the growth in U.S. population.
According to information from Upton, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a non-profit group, estimates the cumulative benefit of the four-week extension through 2020 will be a savings of about $4.4 billion and will result in 10.8 million metric tons less carbon released into the atmosphere.
Upton also said the benefits of an extended daylight saving period go beyond energy conservation. The change will also make it safer for children heading to and from school, and trick-or-treating Halloween.
Sue Furney, director of finance and operations for Brandywine Community Schools, said an earlier daylight saving time will not change the bus schedules for students. Niles Community Schools does not alter their bus schedule either, said Doug Law, superintendent of Niles Community Schools.
"It's going to put us back more like it was in December when it was dark early in the morning, but it will be lighter when they get home in the evening," Furney said.
Added Law, "The interesting thing is it's now just starting to get light at seven in the morning."
Brandywine Athletic Director Vance Stratton said the time change, no matter when it happens, is not a major adjustment for high school sports.
"I don't know it's something that will affect us … it's something we've always had to do," Stratton said.
In the spring, Stratton said baseball and softball teams playing doubleheaders are accustomed to playing one full game and a partial second game. In the fall, the concerns tend to be more about weather, he added.
"The daylight is the least amount of our problems."
In addition, more daylight could also reduce the risk of traffic accidents because people will be driving less at or around dusk, Upton said. And, he added the change could mean less crime.
"Crime rates will go down. Why? Because most crime occurs at night and extending that extra hour will actually reduce crime rates too," he said.
Mexico and Canada have also accommodated the extended daylight saving period by changing their own schedule to reflect that of the U.S., Upton said.