On Sunday, most Americans partook in the annual winding back of the clocks. As Daylight Saving Time ends, we all must partake in the arduous process of figuring out how to adjust the clocks of our microwaves and cars. But Daylight Saving Time is a pointless practice that ought to be phased out. 

Daylight Saving Time is a way to push back the day’s sunset by pushing clocks ahead by one hour. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, the practice is observed in most states and about 40% of countries, including most of Europe, according to Statista. 

While Ben Franklin sarcastically suggested it as a way to save candles, Daylight Saving Time wasn’t necessarily his invention, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. The real inventor is unclear, but modern Daylight Saving Time was first suggested in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During WWI, Germany became the first nation to practice it as a fuel-saving measure, with other nations catching on, including the United States in 1918. 

However, the policy was so unpopular among agricultural workers that the U.S. abandoned it in 1919 when the U.S. and their allies won the war. But when the United States entered WWII, the practice was reintroduced. Peacetime daylight saving time wasn’t enacted until 1966 with the passage of the Uniform Time Act.

Nowadays, most people have no idea about why we have Daylight Saving Time, and there’s been a popular myth that it has something to do with farmers. Farmers have turned out to be one of the biggest opponents of the time change because it negatively affects their work.

People might be able to adjust to the change in time, but animals and plants can’t, which makes the jobs of farmers difficult, according to the Farmer’s Almanac. 

Daylight Saving Time is also inconsistent as Arizona, Hawaii and most of America’s territories don’t practice it. Other nations are just as unpredictable, with parts of Mexico, Australia and Canada ignoring it and using Universal Time Coordinated year-round. 

On top of that, Daylight Saving Time is completely pointless as a fuel-saving measure. While these practices were effective during both World Wars, our modern consumption of energy is a different story. In a 2008 study, the U.S. Department of Energy found that, in a four-week period, Daylight Saving Time saved about 0.5% of electricity per day, according to the Department of Energy. 

If America really wants to save energy, investing in renewable energy is the way to go. The average American must also take steps to reduce energy consumption through using appliances that are less wasteful, avoiding activities that burn massive amounts of carbon and weatherizing homes to avoid unnecessary uses of electricity. 

Instead of hanging onto fossil fuels and an outdated system of clock tampering, America should quickly drop this unnecessary practice. Your local farmer will be grateful.