Longer evenings headed your way

Daylight saving time begins 2 a.m. Sunday

by TONY EVANS

The sun has slowly lumbered higher into the sky each day since the winter solstice, bringing incrementally brighter mornings to the mountain reaches of Idaho.

But Sunday morning, thanks to daylight saving time, the curtain of morning darkness will drop once more upon us.

Those who forget to adjust their clocks forward one hour Saturday night might be late for appointments on Sunday. Those who are trying to reset their biological clocks to conform to federal government time standards should get to bed an hour earlier than usual.

This shift cannot be blamed on the cosmos, but on federal authorities, who mandate a one-hour change forward in clocks each spring, then a switch back each fall.

"Springing forward" one hour is intended to reduce energy consumption through a decrease in evening lighting needs. However, studies have drawn varying conclusions on whether it works.

For those scheduling a hop across the pond for spring break, Europeans won't set their clocks forward until March 25. Mexico won't alter its clocks until April 1 and Israel on March 30. Outside of North America and Europe, most of the world does not switch to daylight saving time.

Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.