Spring forward…fall back… 
Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins this weekend, Sunday, March 14, at 2 a.m. meaning we ‘lose’ an hour during the night. Remember to set your clocks ahead.
For eight months it will be lighter later in the evenings, until 2 a.m. November 7, 2010 when we will return to Standard Time.
Daylight saving was first implemented during World War I in order to take advantage of more daylight hours while saving energy. For years, states assumed the practice saved energy, but recently this has come into question.
Does it really save energy? This idea is surrounded by controversy.
Recent state and national studies seem to contradict each other. In 2006, when Indiana first instituted DST statewide, studies showed a rise in residential energy use costing the state an extra $9 million. In 2008, the US Department of Energy found a savings of 1.3 billion total kilowatt-hours nationwide reflecting both residential and commercial energy usage.
In 2007, the time change was extended another month — three weeks earlier in the spring and a week later in the fall. The California Energy Commission found no significant change in the amount of energy use because of the additional time.
Hawaii, most of Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and The U.S. Virgin Islands opt out of participating in the traditional “changing of the clocks.”
About 70 other countries observe DST, including Russia, New Zealand and Antarctica, though not all at the same time.
Countries closer to the equator don’t implement DST because their hours of daylight throughout the year tend to be more consistent.
