Ever wondered why the clocks change?

So I was thinking...why exactly do the clocks change? I mean, I had a rough idea. But then I thought, 'who started this'? I'd read in the past that it was to do with the farmers wanting more light in the mornings...to lead to, ultimately, more money money money woohoo! I thought that this was a really good example for our project...the fact that we actually change our clocks to make more money, that we actually sacrifice an hour of sleep in the summer for this.

A little research brought up something a little more interesting. A man called William Willet thought that people should not waste their time sleeping in the early mornings.  http://www.whendotheclocksgoback.com/why-do-the-clocks-change/

'In the United Kingdom (UK) we have been observing daylight savings since 1916 when a London based builder, from Kent, called William Willet observed that the morning hours of Summer were being wasted while people slept. He wanted the clocks put forward so that the time wasn’t wasted and was instead utilised in the afternoon.'

This article also suggests that daylight saving was supported by the German allies in WWI to conserve coal in the winter. But this idea of productivity comes up again. This idea of not wasting time.

Another reason is mentioned:

'It is also suggested that Benjamin Franklin also anonymously published a letter to the residents of Paris suggesting that they should try and save on candles and get out of bed earlier to make more of the daylight hours available. Though Franklin did not formerly propose what we now know as DST his actions did cause Parisians to begin rationing candles, taxing shutters on windows and even waking the sleeping public by walking through the streets and ringing bells early in the mornings.'

I am aware that this is not directly linked to money making, but it definitely links back to this idea of daytime being a time not to be wasted, a time to be appreciated...that sleep is invaluable, perhaps a mere necessity. Why? Because we cannot do anything while we sleep. We cannot value, we cannot appreciate, we cannot produce. We can only...sleep.

Now I'm not sure how strong the 'farmers wanting more' reason is . I know that it is part of the reason, especially in the modern day...'the clocks went back to give farmers more daylight in the morning to work in their fields.'
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/what-is-the-point-of-turning-the-clocks-back-427046#ixzz2yUgMjBni 
This Mirror article also revisits the debate surrounding this time change. Much of it surrounds the autumn change, where the extra hour of light goes to the mornings (for those going to work and school) but is taken from the evening. The main argument surrounds the no. of casualties that occur every year because of this early hour of darkness.

"The most dangerous time on our roads is generally between 3pm and 6pm, when drivers are heading home for the day and children are making their way home from school.'


Why hasn't this then changed? Is it because the demand for more light in the morning- for farmers, perhaps?- is more important that the demand for lighter evenings? Or is it because people value lighter early morning commutes? According to this article, it is the Scottish farmers who demand lighter mornings, despite the casualties this can lead to:

'By not putting the clocks back (in the autumn), being able to start field work in the morning would be delayed and livestock farmers looking to feed their cattle and sheep would also be inconvenienced by the extended period of morning darkness.'


Even the arguments against putting the clocks back in autumn seems to resonate with this 'be productive' trend:

"There would be a one-off cost of about £5million to publicise the change but then benefits of around £138m per year, as well as energy savings, business benefits and more opportunities for sport and leisure."

I thought this was interesting. William Willet also wrote an pamphlet called 'The Waste of Daylight in 1907, which I will read and blog a summary. It might be quite useful.