ASHEBORO NC – Sunday night you will be losing an hour of sleep, again (unless you work the third shift in which case you’ll be losing an hour of pay, probably).
Daylight saving time 2021 in North Carolina will begin at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 14.
To “spring forward” clocks change at 2:00 AM local time forward from 1:59 AM to 3:00 AM. The practice, which gives an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day, was originally instituted in the U.S. in 1918 as a wartime measure to help conserve energy. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 established the system of uniform daylight saving time throughout the US. In the U.S., daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, with the time changes taking place at 2:00 a.m. local time.
WHY DO WE DO THIS?
Daylight saving time gives an extra hour of daylight, was originally instituted in the U.S. in 1918 as a war-time measure to help conserve energy. Does it actually conserve energy? Not really, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, daylight saving time reduced electricity usage by only 1 percent but had no impact on home heating.
TURNS OUT IT IS KIND OF DANGEROUS
A study by Jason Varughese from Stanford University and Richard P Allen from Johns Hopkins University found that the sleep deprivation on the Monday following the shift to DST in the spring results in a small increase in fatal accidents.
NO ONE REALLY WANTS TO
An AP-NORC Center poll finds most prefer not to make the switch. While the number of Americans who prefer not to make the switch has gone down, pollsters contribute that to the lessening of the inconvenience of not having to physically change as many clocks which are now updated via an internet connection.
DST COULD BE PERMANENT, IF CONGRESS ACTS
A total of 15 state legislators have passed legislation to make DST permanent, but none of the legislation can take effect without an act of congress. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio first introduced the Sunshine Protection Act in 2018, which would keep the entire country in DST permanently, year-round.
Sen Rubio has renewed his call on Tuesday in a tweet saying “The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,”.