Time to turn the clocks back

Repeated studies have found no conclusive evidence that shifting the clock results in using less energy for electrical lighting or that it increases worker productivity.

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: October 31, 2009 - 11:11 PM

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Time -- once again -- to fall back.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, meaning clocks need to be turned back an hour.

If that seems a tad late in the year, well, it is.

In 2005, Congress passed an energy bill that included extending daylight saving time by about a month. Starting two years ago, the change starts the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

Although the rationale for doing so was to save energy, the benefits -- and drawbacks -- of the time shift have been debated endlessly since it was first written into federal law in 1918.

Repeated studies have found no conclusive evidence that shifting the clock results in using less energy for electrical lighting or that it increases worker productivity.

Obviously, no daylight is actually saved by the shift, since the sun rises and sets independently of any mechanical clock.

Note: The next reminder will come next March 14, when it will be time to spring forward.