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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Cheers and Jeers ... Stouts fire still growing, but in a good way ... Man suspected of sexually abusing child ... Our View: Cheers and Jeers ... Stouts fire still growing, but in a good way ... Man suspected of sexually abusing child ... OUR VIEW Our View: Daylight saving bill another waste of time Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Mar. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Mar. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News There are ideas whose time has come. Then there are ideas that are ahead of their time. And lastly, there are ideas that should have been implemented a long time ago. Doing away with the twice-yearly time change is one of the latter — but that doesn't mean Oregon should go it alone. Two bills before the Oregon Senate would do away with Daylight Saving Time. One would ask voters in the 2016 election whether to ditch the practice of resetting clocks in spring and fall, but delay the change until 2022 to give everyone plenty of time to prepare. The other bill would eliminate daylight saving almost immediately. Both ideas are bad ones, but not because we love changing our clocks and want to keep on doing it forever. There are good arguments for ending the practice, but only if the entire country — or at least the entire Pacific time zone — did it at the same time. Otherwise, chaos would ensue. Daylight Saving Time, which is really daylight shifting time, involves moving clocks ahead one hour in the spring, meaning it gets light an hour later in the morning and stays light an hour later in the evening. The reasoning is that this saves energy because people don't turn on lights as early at night. The idea originated with Benjamin Franklin — who proposed it as a joke. While living in Paris, a city renowned for its nightlife, Franklin wrote an essay describing how he arose far earlier than usual one morning and was astonished to find the sun streaming in his window. What a waste of daylight, he argued, in a city whose residents routinely slept until noon. Little did he know the idea would one day be taken seriously. Germany was the first country to do it, to save fuel during World War I.  Modern-day studies have indicated the practice doesn't really save energy, and can actually use more in warm climates because of increased use of air conditioners. One of the bills' sponsors says she would favor switching Oregon to the Mountain Time Zone to take advantage of an hour of daylight later in the evening. So why not just remain on daylight time all year long? That has been suggested by many, and makes some sense — but again, only if every state in the country made the change at the same time.     MailTribune.com Writer Posted Mar. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501