Although your regular power supply is proven to be a steady source of electricity for your home, it’s also known how a major storm can knock out your electrical connections on occasion. Typically, it’s only a short time of power outage for an evening or maybe an afternoon, so you go to bed early or take a much needed nap and the power is back on when you wake up. Two situations result in situations that aren’t so cute. One, you have work to do that can’t be postponed even though your power is off for a couple of hours. Secondly, when power is out for several days so you know you need to cook all the food you kept frozen, but can’t cook it because the power is out.

Preparing for Natural Disasters

When a major storm approaches you’ve certainly seen long lines at the grocery store of people buying last minute needs in case they won’t be available over the upcoming days. A better idea is to prepare ahead of time so you have no worries should a storm take your power out for a few days. A flashlight, bottled water, canned goods, a heater with fuel and perhaps a camp stove are always good to have around in case of an emergency. Better yet is to have a generator so you can continue to run your home as a home and live your life according to how you live on a daily basis.

Generators and Solar Panels

Solar panels may seem like a perfect solution, but unfortunately they don’t work very well when the sun is blocked by the storm that knocked out your regular electric supply. Generators, on the other hand, are ready to run as long as you keep them fueled and can keep you going during a power outage. A temporary outage for thirty minutes won’t be a problem as the generator will turn on so you never know the power went out. You may need to conserve energy for an outage expected to last several days, but your basic needs of heat, refrigeration, and cooking will be met.

This weekend many people around the country set their clocks back to adhere to daylight savings time (DST).     How did this tradition start, and why do we follow daylight savings time?

Although daylight savings has only been used for about 100 years, ancient civilizations had been known to use a similar system.  Ancient people would adjust their daily schedules to the sun’s schedule.  Benjamin Franklin is often credited with bringing daylight savings time into the modern limelight.  He suggested, in a essay, although jokingly, that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead.

Both George Vernon Hudson and William Willett had also suggested a system similar to daylight savings.  Both men suggested setting clocks either forward or back to coincide with daylight hours.  Willet actually suggested eight time changes a year moving clocks in 20 minute increments.  This plan was introduced to the British House of Commons in February 1908, with the first bill drafted in 1909, however, the idea was never made into a law.

Daylight Savings in Europe

Germany was the first country to implement DST in 1916 in an effort to save fuel for the war.  The innovative idea caught on and countries around the world used DST during the war, but many reverted back to standard time after WWI.  U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States, called “War Time” during World War II from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.

Modern DST in the U.S.

In the United States, DST caused widespread confusion from 1945 to because states and localities were free to choose when and if they would observe DST.  In 1966 Congress passed into law the Uniform Time Act which stated DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. However, states still had the ability to be exempt from DST by passing a local ordinance.

Daylight Saving today