Seize the Daylight

Seize the Daylight
Author: David Prerau
Publisher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2009-04-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 078673695X

Benjamin Franklin conceived of it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endorsed it. Winston Churchill campaigned for it. Kaiser Wilhelm first employed it. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt went to war with it, and more recently the United States fought an energy crisis with it. For several months every year, for better or worse, daylight savings time affects vast numbers of people throughout the world. And from Ben Franklin's era to today, its story has been an intriguing and sometimes-bizarre amalgam of colorful personalities and serious technical issues, purported costs and perceived benefits, conflicts between interest groups and government policymakers. It impacts diverse and unexpected areas, including agricultural practices, street crime, the reporting of sports scores, traffic accidents, the inheritance rights of twins, and voter turnout. Illustrated with a popular look at science and history, Seize the Daylight presents an intriguing and surprisingly entertaining story of our attempt to regulate the sunlight hours.

Spring Forward

Spring Forward
Author: Michael Downing
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2009-02-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1582434956

Michael Downing is obsessed with Daylight Saving, the loopy idea that became the most persistent political controversy in American history. Almost one hundred years after Congressmen and lawmakers in every state first debated, ridiculed, and then passionately embraced the possibility of saving an hour of daylight, no one can say for sure why we are required by law to change our clocks twice a year. Who first proposed the scheme? The most authoritative sources agree it was a Pittsburgh industrialist, Woodrow Wilson, a man on a horse in London, a Manhattan socialite, Benjamin Franklin, one of the Caesars, or the anonymous makers of ancient Chinese and Japanese water clocks. Spring Forward is a portrait of public policy in the 20th century, a perennially boiling cauldron of unsubstantiated science, profiteering masked as piety, and mysteriously shifting time–zone boundaries. It is a true–to–life social comedy with Congress in the leading role, surrounded by a supporting cast of opportunistic ministers, movie moguls, stockbrokers, labor leaders, sports fanatics, and railroad execs.

Introduction to Daylight saving time

Introduction to Daylight saving time
Author: Gilad James, PhD
Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2017-10-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1979001405

Daylight saving time (DST) is a practice of adjusting the clocks forward an hour during the spring season and reversing it back during autumn. This alteration helps in utilizing the daylight hours more efficiently and reducing energy consumption during the evening. Daylight saving time is implemented in different countries across the world, with varying dates of implementation. Some countries also opt-out of this practice for various reasons, such as the detrimental effects on the human body due to the abrupt shift in the sleep cycle or the inconvenience caused by the constant change in the time zone. The idea of daylight saving time can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin, but the modern implementation of this practice began during the First World War. It was first introduced in Germany in 1916, and soon other European countries followed suit. The United States adopted this practice during the Second World War, and it was later standardized after the Uniform Time Act of 1966. However, the implementation and duration of daylight saving time have been subject to numerous debates and controversies, with many scientists and policymakers now questioning its effectiveness and benefits. In this book we discuss topics such as: Introduction: Brief history of Daylight Saving Time (DST), Purpose of DST, Controversy surrounding DST How DST Works: Setting our clocks forward and backward, Impact on natural light patterns, Benefits of DST, 1. Energy conservation, 2. Improved public safety, 3. Increased economic productivity, 4. Health benefits The Global Debate on DST: Countries that observe DST, Countries that do not observe DST, Reasons for differing policies on DST Impacts of DST: Agriculture and farming, Transportation, Tourism, Education, Health DST and Technology: Impact of DST on electronic devices, Time zones and international communication, The role of technology in DST policy Alternatives to DST: Permanent Standard Time, Double DST, Time Zone Changes Conclusion: Summary of the main points, Implications for future DST policy and Call to action for additional research. Quizzes are provided at the end of each section.

The Global Transformation of Time

The Global Transformation of Time
Author: Vanessa Ogle
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2015-10-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674737024

As new networks of railways, steamships, and telegraph communications brought distant places into unprecedented proximity, previously minor discrepancies in local time-telling became a global problem. Vanessa Ogle’s chronicle of the struggle to standardize clock times and calendars from 1870 to 1950 highlights the many hurdles that proponents of uniformity faced in establishing international standards. Time played a foundational role in nineteenth-century globalization. Growing interconnectedness prompted contemporaries to reflect on the annihilation of space and distance and to develop a global consciousness. Time—historical, evolutionary, religious, social, and legal—provided a basis for comparing the world’s nations and societies, and it established hierarchies that separated “advanced” from “backward” peoples in an age when such distinctions underwrote European imperialism. Debates and disagreements on the varieties of time drew in a wide array of observers: German government officials, British social reformers, colonial administrators, Indian nationalists, Arab reformers, Muslim scholars, and League of Nations bureaucrats. Such exchanges often heightened national and regional disparities. The standardization of clock times therefore remained incomplete as late as the 1940s, and the sought-after unification of calendars never came to pass. The Global Transformation of Time reveals how globalization was less a relentlessly homogenizing force than a slow and uneven process of adoption and adaptation that often accentuated national differences.

From Sundials to Atomic Clocks

From Sundials to Atomic Clocks
Author: James Jespersen
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 322
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0486409139

Clear and accessible introduction to the concept of time examines measurement, historic timekeeping methods, uses of time information, role of time in science and technology, and much more. Over 300 illustrations.

Whale Snow

Whale Snow
Author: Chie Sakakibara
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2020-10-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0816529612

As a mythical creature, the whale has been responsible for many transformations in the world. It is an enchanting being that humans have long felt a connection to. In the contemporary environmental imagination, whales are charismatic megafauna feeding our environmentalism and aspirations for a better and more sustainable future. Using multispecies ethnography, Whale Snow explores how everyday the relatedness of the Iñupiat of Arctic Alaska and the bowhead whale forms and transforms “the human” through their encounters with modernity. Whale Snow shows how the people live in the world that intersects with other beings, how these connections came into being, and, most importantly, how such intimate and intense relations help humans survive the social challenges incurred by climate change. In this time of ecological transition, exploring multispecies relatedness is crucial as it keeps social capacities to adapt relational, elastic, and resilient. In the Arctic, climate, culture, and human resilience are connected through bowhead whaling. In Whale Snow we see how climate change disrupts this ancient practice and, in the process, affects a vital expression of Indigenous sovereignty. Ultimately, though, this book offers a story of hope grounded in multispecies resilience.

Now & Ben

Now & Ben
Author: Gene Barretta
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company (BYR)
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2006-03-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1429917318

The inventions and inspiration of Benjamin Franklin and how they've stood the test of time What would you do if you lived in a community without a library, hospital, post office, or fire department? If you were Benjamin Franklin, you'd set up these organizations yourself. Franklin also designed the lightning rod, suggested the idea of daylight savings time, and invented bifocals-all inspired by his common sense and intelligence. In this informative book, Gene Barretta brings Benjamin Franklin's genius to life, deepening our appreciation for one of the most influential figures in American history. Now & Ben is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Why We Sleep

Why We Sleep
Author: Matthew Walker
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1501144316

"Sleep is one of the most important but least understood aspects of our life, wellness, and longevity ... An explosion of scientific discoveries in the last twenty years has shed new light on this fundamental aspect of our lives. Now ... neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming"--Amazon.com.

An Introduction to Tree-ring Dating

An Introduction to Tree-ring Dating
Author: Marvin A. Stokes
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 100
Release: 1996-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780816516803

Tree-ring dating, or dendrochronology, is the study of the chronological sequence of annual growth rings in trees. This book--a seminal study in its field--provides a simple yet eloquent introduction to the discipline, explaining what a dendrochronologist does both in the field and in the laboratory. Authors Stokes and Smiley first explain the basic principles of tree-ring dating, then describe details of the process, step by step, from the time a sample is collected until it is incorporated into a master chronology. The book focuses on coniferous evergreens of the Southwest, particularly pi–ons, because they have wide geographic distribution, constitute a large population, and show excellent growth response to certain controlling factors. The book is specifically concerned with the task of establishing a calendar date for a wood or charcoal specimen. This concise but thorough explication of an important discipline will make dendrochonology more meaningful to students and professionals in archaeology, forestry, hydrology, and global change.