The EU transport Committee on Monday (04.03.) about a possible end to the time change, over the past 200 years, is in a fight. Benjamin Franklin had proposed in 1784, but only for the fun of it!
Although the transport Committee in the European Parliament on Monday, 4. March 2019, about a possible end to the time change, but the lengthy approval process in the EU begins.
According to the committees, the plenary advises, and only if, at the end of all the EU member States to agree, can be abolished daylight savings time in the EU. But this can take time. As the date for the final changeover to the year 2021 is in the conversation. A big Problem is the so far lack of coordination between the member States. According to the proposal of the EU Commission, every country would decide for itself the time zone in which it remains permanently.
Is it time for an EU decision on the time change!
It all started with a joke
Will be a debate about the sense or nonsense of a time change for more than two centuries. The controversial idea comes from the long sleeper, inventor, and later US President, Benjamin Franklin, who had actually made fun of: Because the French arrived in the morning so bad from the springs, wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1784, a satirical discourse on how many candles and money you could save if you changed the time and earlier up. To enforce this, should Paris kidney in the future, Windows stores taxed, candles ratio and the population in the morning with the thunder of cannons to awaken.
As the 78-Year-old this Satire written, lived Franklin, inventor and founding father of the United States, already for eight years in Paris. As an American delegate, he had the French as allies in the fight against the British to win. Strokes, as he celebrated his alert mind and his negotiating skills.
Franklin, however, made to establish the age, gout and gall stones tied him to his house in the Paris suburb of Passy. Society made him good friends, such as Antoine Alexis-françois Cadet de Vaux, editor of the Journal de Paris, and was encouraged for his sense of Humor known to Franklin, to write with a light spring small texts everyday problems.
US founding father, inventor, long-sleeper: Benjamin Franklin.
The hkung, the morning sun
And so Franklin wrote for the Journal de Paris of those Satire about the cost-effectiveness of the lighting in the household, about his own frugality, and his passion for the game of chess until the early hours of the morning, which is why Franklin was sleeping by myself mostly until noon.
Under the title “an Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” describes Franklin that he had a chance to once around 6 o’clock in the morning, awake because the window shutters were not closed as usual, and as he had discovered to his great astonishment, that “the sun was shining early in the morning already”. Nobody wanted to believe him, his amazing discovery, although he had it tested several times, to Franklin, in an ironic tone of voice. He himself had seen the morning sun with his own eyes, he assured the audience.
Quite a scientist, he calculated how many candles and lamp oil we could save if we would change the time: If there are 100,000 Parisian households in the summer time, seven hours of candle left to burn, you could save about 64 million pounds of wax. “A vast amount of money could save Paris every year,” was the enthusiastic American guest. Since the Paris change but as we know, hate to break up your habits and get up earlier, had to resort to drastic measures.
The Parisians laughed at Franklin’s satirical advice and his comments on the night life. The proposed time change, but it got forgotten. Only one hundred years later, two scientists proposed, independently, a seasonal time shift in 1895, new Zealand entomologist and astronomer George Vernon Hudson, and in 1907, the British inventor William Willett.
In his pamphlet “The Waste of Daylight” recommends Willett , the clocks in the summer to 80 minutes, in order to save the long brightness 2.5 million pounds of lighting costs. The watches should be made on four consecutive Sundays in April to 20 minutes before and the same again in September.
Due to the time change actually save energy?
What started as a joke, in times of crisis, deadly Serious
Excited by the idea of only Winston Churchill was supposed to, but the summer time is not could not enforce in the UK. It was only when Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1916, so in the middle of the First world war, surprisingly, the summer introducing time to the opponents of the war Britain and France and other European countries. By energy savings on summer evenings, the material battles of the First world war should be supported.
When the war was lost, abolished in Germany in 1919, the unpopular war relic. In France, protesters were able to reach farmers, that the summer was abolished in the time of 1922. However, it was introduced in 1923, then again. The United Kingdom maintained, by contrast, the only country to be continuously in the summer time.
Again to the beginning of the war Germany was reminded of the energy saving thoughts and the summer was introduced in 1940. Also in the occupied territories, the Berlin of the time had to apply. In the summer time, it remained, as Germany had once again lost the war.
In 1947, prescribed the allied control Council, even double summer time, so a deviation of two hours to the better use of daylight. But the regulation was only for seven weeks, the summer time was again. With the end of the war, many European States adopted everyday of the summer time; in Germany, the annual time was abolished conversion, then, in the year of establishment of the two German States, East and West in 1949, agreed in a rare show of Unity.
In Franklin’s home, it was less clear: The summer time had been introduced in the USA already during the First world war. Also during the Second world war, the watches were made all year round from one hour before to “Time”. However, until 1966 there was no uniform Federal law. This means It was ticked by then decided not national, but regional or local, where there was summer time, so even within a state, the clocks are different.
European Patchwork
In the “economic miracle” years of savings and, accordingly, of a period conversion, energy was no more talk. It was only when the Oil-shock of 1973, Europe is in a deep crisis, crashed, and driving bans had to be imposed, was remembered. Was implemented the time change at first, however, only in France, as some West European country in 1976, the summer time is re-introduced. After a while, other member States of the European community, the predecessor of the EU, followed.
The Federal Republic, but hesitated, finally, the division should not be discussed also due to the different time zones. In 1979, the GDR was surprised after a long Silence the West, and the introduction of the summer announced for the following year. Starting in 1980, she was then in the two German States. Many of the neighbouring countries followed.
The different summer-time arrangements were standardized in 1996 within the European Union, since it applies in all EU member States (except the overseas areas) for about 512 million EU citizens and for the millions of neighbors in Europe.
Not only in the last decades, was debated heatedly about the sense or nonsense of a time change. Supporters and opponents hold, and has always been, with Evidence of economic, energy, or health benefits, or damages mutually in check. After the surprisingly clear vote in favour of an EU-wide Online survey for the summer time, advises the EU Commission, the unpopular time change to finally get rid of.
Would Franklin know what turmoil has triggered its harmless Satire, he would not have had its bright joy.
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The pitfalls of the time changeIt happens at night
In October the clock is put back from 3 to 2 at night an hour, in the March from 2 to 3 p.m., one hour. First, they give us an hour, then you will steal again, as the saying goes. So happy the Germans are not so: The majority of the time refuses to change, every Fourth says that he suffer.
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The pitfalls of the time changeOn time to the Minute
Like outside, also the Winter, the changeover to the summer time, still, every year on the last weekend of March and the since 1980. The aim is to use the daylight better and save energy. According to the Federal environmental Agency that does not work, however. Although later, the light switched on in the evenings, more heating is in the morning hours.
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The pitfalls of the time changeDon’t forget: adjust clock
Although we know that it is that time again. Nevertheless, many people always forget, your clocks on time change and then come to work late. With a clock it is not done in every household, there are finally several.
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The pitfalls of the time changeRadio-controlled clocks can be useful
Happy can appreciate, who has a radio clock. In companies, this is far from the norm. And at home, a radio alarm clock can be very useful. You do not need to take care of your own Change. The watch is done entirely automatically, because it receives signals from the atomic clock of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig, Germany.
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The pitfalls of the time changeA lot of work for the master watchmakers
Here is a great deal of dexterity is required. This historic clock in the black forest clock Museum in Furtwangen has 17 dials that need to be changed. And she’s not the only one, so that the watchmaker is busy at any time change forever.
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The pitfalls of the time changeAlready time to get up??
With the summer time, the large Yawn. The time change messes up many of the “internal clock”, which can lead to fatigue, sleep disorders and poor mood. Motorists are less concentrated, commuters in the train on the way to work, sleep-drunk to find a seat. After a week, but again.
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The pitfalls of the time changeEspecially children suffering
Many girls and boys have almost a “Mini-Jetlag”. Are you nervous and cranky and don’t understand at all why they should suddenly. For working parents this is particularly distressing.
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The pitfalls of the time changeSensitive Milk Cows
In the animal Kingdom is felt by all the fuss about the time change. However, cows that suddenly get milked an hour earlier and so out of your natural rhythm ripped respond, often very sensitive and give less milk. That’s why so many farmers to have used the animals a few days before slowly on the summer time. Every day they are awakened ten minutes earlier.
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The pitfalls of the time changeRoutine at the track
For Deutsche Bahn, the time change is already Routine. In the transition to the winter time the trains stay just an hour on the Track, summer time means that you arrive late to your destination. Freight trains are sent prior to the scheduled departure time on the trip.
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The pitfalls of the time changeNice it is
If the body has to get used to the summer time, the conversion also benefits. In the evening, it is much more light, spring feeling to come, and the anticipation of the summer and until the next time change, it’s still six months.