Summer time
Shorter sleep, longer light, the clock goes ahead. The clock must be put an hour ahead coming night. That means an hour shorter sleep, but enjoy an hour longer daylight in the evening.
Without summer time it would become light at 3:30 and dark at 21:30 by the end of June. Changing the clock ensures that the day light period shifts. The English assignee William Willet came in 1907, with the idea of putting the clock ahead. During half of the year the sun already shines a couple of hours while we are still sleeping and goes down already when we come home from work. Why don’t we put the clock ahead in that period?, he wrote on a leaflet. Two years later after the first world war (1914-1918) many countries liked the idea because it would be of an economic advantage.
Because thanks to the summer time energy is saved, for example street lights needs to be switched on later in the evening. Energy companies value that the summer time saves about 0.3 percents on energy. In the Netherlands because of the oil crisis of 1973 eventually in 1977, to sheathing of the summer time, which had been abolished in 1946. Every saving on scarce fuels was at that time very welcome.
Changing the clock happens annually in all Member States of the European Union. The European Commission concluded last year that the summer time regulation still satisfies. Absolutely no Member State has indicated to get rid of the summer time.
Who doubts each year if the clock must go ahead or backwards, there is an easy reminder: in spring the clock goes an hour forward. The summer time finishes on 26th October at three o’clock in the night.
More at The Dutch Daily News
