The decision to change the daylight saving time schedule was made two years ago at the initiative of Congressmen Edward Markey and Fred Upton – authors of the energy policy law. Markey and Upton are convinced: an earlier switch will allow the US to save $4.4 billion on energy consumption by 2020. Furthermore, the increase in daylight hours will help save about 8 billion 'cubic meters' of natural gas and prevent the emission of 10.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. America will not only make a feasible contribution to the fight against the greenhouse effect but also truly begin developing alternative energy sources, Markey and Upton assure. Finally, 'we will reduce crime and road deaths, gain time for recreation, and increase economic activity.' But some serious experts in the US are ready to argue with that. Fortunately, there is a precedent for a sharp switch to summer in the middle of old lady winter.
In 1974, President Nixon ordered the clocks to be set forward by a full hour on January 6! Washington took this step in response to the OPEC oil embargo. So: the first days after the innovation were marked by a sharp increase in the number of traffic accidents, including pedestrian hits. Many Americans simply did not have time to adjust their biorhythms to the new daylight schedule. And even when the switch to daylight saving time in the US was carried out 'in a planned manner,' it had a sharply negative effect on the road situation, asserts Martin Moore-Ede, a former professor at Harvard Medical School who conducted special research on this topic. 'We studied both the 1980s and the 1990s... It is absolutely obvious that the transition to daylight or standard time leads to systemic disruptions in the human body,' says Moore-Ede. And he predicts that 'in the coming days we will see a sharp increase in the number of road incidents.'