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Have you been enjoying the extra sunlight in the evening or do you miss that extra hour of sleep? A bill being discussed in congress may extend daylight saving time, in hopes of saving energy.
Spring forward, fall back. It's the saying we use to remember the switch between standard and daylight saving time. Currently daylight saving time begins in April and ends in October. But some congressional lawmakers want to expand it to start in March and end in November. The reason, saving energy.
"Daylight saving time was one of the areas that was initiated for the purpose of saving energy and the more you can do things in the daylight, the more you can keep homeowners from needing to use inside light," said Dr. Don Russell with Texas A&M's electrical engineering department.
He says the move would shrink residential energy consumption. But others say it wouldn't affect their electricity habits at all.
"Usually if I'm going to be doing something outdoors, I can get a light or something," said Ronny Lackey, a Texas A&M student.
While others hate losing that extra hour of sleep.
"I very much prefer standard time because with the time change every 6 months, it just completely throws me off," said Robert Beaty, a Bryan resident.
Many congressmen believe the extension of daylight will cut down on the number of traffic accidents since more people may be driving before dark and they even believe it will help prevent crime.
"There are a lot of accidents that occur at dusk and sundown. So certainly if you could have your heavy traffic areas in the daylight hours, it would seem reasonable to assume that you'd have fewer accidents," said Dr. Russell.
The daylight saving extension will go before the house for a vote in the coming weeks.
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