It's that time of the year again. Clocks have been turned forward one hour. Same thing has been going on for almost 40 years here. Hopefully this was one of the last times as it has already been decided that this practice should end next year. Now, it's just a matter of deciding whether we should stay in summertime or winter(normal)time.
During the first world war summertime was first used to extend the working hours and save some electricity as the times were tough. In the sevemties, after the oil crisis this came a hot topic again as a way to preserve energy. It has also been justified as it allows people to do recreational activities longer, lowers traffic accidents and even crime rates.
Many of these reasons have been controversial. At these latitudes the effect only applies to a short period of time during the spring and autumn anyway. And what small benefits it might bring there are downsides to it as well. The forced change to the biological rhythm can cause stress and tiredness which can cancel out the positive effects of having more light. And 5he energy savings haven't shown up in the charts either.