Daylight Savings Time is back this weekend. At 2 a.m. on Sunday March 8, participating states and municipalities will push clocks forward one hour, adding to the afternoon sunlight and reducing the amount of light in the morning hours.

It’s spring forward, and fall back to change the way the sun affects many Americans and others around the world. The current version of DST was originally proposed in 1907 by the English builder William Willett and the practice has been adopted around the world, although varying to some degree from country to country.

According to Wikipedia, “The prominent English builder and outdoorsman William Willett conceived DST in 1905 during a pre-breakfast ride, when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through a large part of a summer day. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk. His solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. He lobbied unsuccessfully for the proposal until his death in 1915.”

In and of itself, DST is somewhat controversial, extending daylight in the afternoon benefits retailing, sports and other activities that profit from additional daylight hours. However, DST causes problems for farming, entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun.

One measurable benefit to DST is that fatal traffic accidents diminish considerably when there is extra afternoon daylight. However, DST’s impact on health and crime is not so identifiable.

One of the early reasons to implement DST was to reduce usage of lighting in the evening. There is no definitive research, which indicates DST has any significant impact on energy usage.

The changing of the clocks also causes challenges in other areas. The time shift complicates computer timekeeping, billing, transportation schedules and more, More importantly, the changing of the clocks means everyone in Southern Maryland has a weekend shorter by one hour.