Batteries, Bugs, and the Nineteenth Hole

Written for Call2Recycle web/newsletter, October 2013.  

Did you know that the practice of changing clocks every Spring and Fall is the result of needing more time to collect insects and play golf?  

Excluding ancient civilisations, the concept of “daylight savings time” was first proposed in 1895 by an entomologist from New Zealand named George Vernon Hudson.  His motivation was to try to increase the amount of time he could study insects after work.  At almost the same time in 1907, an English builder and outdoorsman named William Willett proposed the same thing so that he would have more time to play golf in the summer evenings!  It took another decade for the practice to be adopted but by 1916 Germany, Austria, and Hungary were changing their clocks.  The ‘final straw’ for clock changing came much later, when the 1979 Oil Price Shocks led to Western nations reducing their power consumption so as to not be reliant on foreign oil.  

In the 21^st century, Call2Recycle marks these biannual alterations of time for safety reasons that still relate to power.  Many modern homes are fitted with smoke or CO₂ alarms, and the common best practice in maintaining these is to check and/or change the batteries every six months.  Indeed, in 2010 a global initiative between battery manufacturers and the International Fire Chiefs Association called, “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” was launched.  The intention was to try to reduce the quantity of casualties caused from fires in the home.  Today, Call2Recycle still works with more than 400 fire departments across the continent, some of whom are also drop-off locations for used batteries.  With them we have already diverted more than 11,000kg of used batteries away from landfills this year alone.  

And don’t forget, Call2Recycle has over 30,000 drop-off locations all over North America for the day when your batteries are finally spent.  After all that, if you can’t remember whether the clock should be moved forwards or backwards, then just remember that one hour’s sleep is the price we pay for Summer.