Daylight saving time (DST) – also summer time in British English (see Terminology) – is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn.^[1] Modern DST was first proposed in 1895 by George Vernon Hudson.^[2] Many countries have used it since then; details vary by location and change occasionally.

The practice is controversial.^[1] Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours,^[3] but causes problems for farming, evening entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun.^[4][5] Traffic fatalities are reduced when there is extra afternoon daylight.^[6] Its effect on health and crime is less clear. Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting, formerly a primary use of electricity,^[7] modern heating and cooling usage patterns differ greatly, and research about how DST currently affects energy use is limited or contradictory.^[8]

(... from Wikipedia on 2010-07-30 13:08:42 )