Love It or Hate It — Daylight Saving Time is the Law

Ahh. The extra sunshine these days makes me long for spring. Thanks to daylight saving time nearly all of us are now able to enjoy an extra hour of sun on the back end of the day. The only U.S. residents who don’t benefit live in Hawaii, most of Arizona (excluding the Navajo reservation) and about a half dozen American territories that stay on standard time.

But not everyone is as happy as I am with the extra sunlight.  

Albert Hussman wrote to say, “I would like to see you report on something that almost all Americans would like to see abolished … daylight saving time. It’s so foolish to have this annoying and unnecessary thing pop up twice every year.”

Turns out a majority of Americans agree with Mr. Hussman.  A Rassmussen poll a couple years ago found only 35% of us like springing forward and falling back during this bi-annual ritual.

The extra daylight in the evening comes, of course, at the expense of a delayed sunrise and the prolonged darkness can be hazardous for those who need to be at school or work early. History shows us that messing with the clocks  results negatively on both economic and health issues. During daylight saving time (DTS) the U.S. sees an uptick in traffic accidents, workplace injuries and heart attacks.  And there’s no improvement in energy consumption or consumer spending as they pretty much cancel each other out in spring and winter.

So, why do we do practice daylight saving time? While the idea of adjusting clocks first went into effect 100 years ago during World War I, and came and went during wartimes, we practice DST today because of The 1966 Uniform Time Act. It mandates the time change but allows states to opt out.

Since 1966 several state lawmakers have tried to defy the UT Act. New Mexico Senator Cliff Pirtle has long wanted to opt out of daylight savings time. And for economic reasons he’d like to see the feds approve a plan that would scoot the Land of Enchantment over into the central time zone.

“Since so much of our state’s economy is based on oil and gas and banking, the closer we are in time with our neighbors in the east the better,” Pirtle told the Santa Fe New Mexican. “And the closer to New York, with the stock exchange working there (early and until) 4, I think it will make our economy better off.” Other New Mexico lawmakers have not embraced Pirtle’s ideas.

In Florida it’s a different story. Earlier this month the state’s legislature agreed to stay on daylight saving time all year. That would mean an extra hour of sunny beach time during the peak tourist season of March through November, if both the governor and the U.S. Congress agree.  More tourists, more tourist dollars. But the change would also mean that during the winter months the sun wouldn’t rise in Miami until 8:00 am and not until 8:30 in Tallahassee.  Imagine what that would do to parents with young kids struggling to get them out the door each morning in the dark. Schools could be ordered to start later but would employers agree to allow workers with kids to come in late?

See the dilemma? What you give to the end of the day is, naturally, taken away from the beginning of the day. As Mr. Hussman wrote to me, “It inconveniences everybody. There are only so many daylight hours in a day. You gain nothing” by tinkering around with time.

A few years ago, Texas seemed poised to adopt the idea of ignoring DST and staying on standard time year around. But when it became clear that their revered Dallas Cowboys’ Sunday road games with east coast rivals would start at 11 am during church services Lone Star lawmakers chose God over a time change.

A commission in Massachusetts had recommended that the state, and possibly all of New England, permanently turn clocks ahead one hour and do away with the rigmarole of switching back and forth. Then they realized that having Boston and New York City – two locations with a ton of interconnected economic interests – on different time zones wasn’t such a great idea.

Then there is my husband’s idea to do away with daylight savings time altogether. Then abolish our current four time zones in favor of just two. By merging the current eastern and central zones and the mountain and pacific zones, he believes, it would just be a matter of everyone getting used to the new system.

In the final analysis, I must admit that Mr. Hussman is correct. We may think we gain something with that extra hour of sunshine from March to November but let’s embrace the lessons learned. If you mess with Mother Nature, there are sure to be unintended consequences. Let’s scrap the whole idea of tinkering with time, shall we?

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19 Comments

  1. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    Facebook Friend Bill Voinovich writes:

    Didn’t they originally do this to help the farmers with their crops???
    I was thinking since almost ALL the farm tractors have lights now, there’s not much need for the time change, so they ought to just LEAVE IT ALONE…..

    • Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:43 pm

      Diane Dimond replies:

      Actually, Bill…in my research I learned that farmers/ranchers never really wanted daylight savings time. There are only so many hours of sun for crops no matter what our clocks say – and for those with livestock – they don’t like it either as it idles ranchhands for the first hour of darkness and forces them to pay overtime to keep them to tend the cattle that extra hours at night. Not sure where that myth of farmers and ranchers supporting DST originated! ~DD

  2. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Facebook Friend Ronald Jeffries Tallman writes:

    Throws me off. Still haven’t recovered.

  3. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Facebook Friend Amy Tanaka writes:

    Leave our clocks alone already!

  4. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    Facebook Friend Catherine Whitney writes:

    I’d be ok with it if we left them on daylight savings time.

  5. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    Facebook Friend Elizabeth Blackburn writes:

    I thought it was because people could shop the merchants while it was light outside. Apparently, we don’t like to shop or drive after dark.

  6. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:45 pm

    Facebook Friend Andrea Saint James writes:

    Florida voted to remain on DST permanently. We are already on DST 8 months of the year.

    • Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:46 pm

      Diane Dimond replies:

      As I mentioned in the column (and as of my deadline) your governor there in Florida still must agree and sign the bill, and then the US Congress must approve it before Florida can stay on daylight saving time all year around. ~DD

      • Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:46 pm

        Andrea Saint James replies:

        The governor did sign it and I know Congress has to approve it, but as I said, we are already on Daylight Savings Time for 8 months out of 12. I say quit Standard Time.

  7. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    Facebook Friend Matt Kimberly writes:

    I’m tired of it. It’s ridiculous. // Diane, to be honest, I’m tired of a lot of things but I’m especially tired of the days immediately before and after Daylight Savings Time. It’s a ridiculous exercise that we have to go through every year. Why? Nobody seems to want to answer that. I like the “spring forward” but not the “fall backward”. I like the sun to be out longer. Why can’t we just leave it that way.

  8. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    Twitter pal jan@Bee_Happening writes:

    I would prefer having daylight savings all year because I no longer rise early in the morning. I love having more daylight at the end of the day. Even when I used to rise early I just was used to it being dark — even going to school and taking care of farm chores

  9. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    Facebook Friend Bonnie Ramsay writes:

    Honestly it wouldn’t bother me either way. Maybe it’s all in how you view it because I’ve never been one to think I was either gaining or losing an hour of sleep per say. I realize my internal clock will take a few days to adjust and change “bed time” accordingly. As for changing the clocks, that was easy! I got ones that change themselves just like my computer and cell phone! LOL

  10. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Twitter pal Ken Jenkins@Mad_Monk writes:

    Leave it like it is right now !!

  11. Diane Dimond on March 20, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Facebook Friend William King writes:

    I agree that we should get rid of Day light Saving Time. Ridiculous!!

  12. Diane Dimond on March 26, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    Twitter Pal Mark Schlaffer@Schlaff73 writes:

    I would prefer springing forward at 3 pm on a Monday at work instead of 2 am on a Saturday.

  13. Diane Dimond on March 26, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    Twitter Pal jdarlene@tercell98 writes:

    I hate it! We’re trying to make changes here in Canada.

  14. Diane Dimond on March 26, 2018 at 12:52 pm

    Twitter Pal AlabamaRose@alabamarose writes:

    Hate it! Leave it on standard time all year. It’s dangerous. More heart attacks, accidents, kids going to school bus stops in the dark. Makes no sense!

  15. Diane Dimond on April 18, 2018 at 1:30 pm

    Twitter Pal Victor Brendig@DigTheVic writes:

    Please make it staahhhhp!!! lol….

  16. Diane Dimond on April 18, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    Facebook Friend Richard Hydell writes:

    I knew one (a pedophile) very well and his wife Susan. I told him if he touched one 14-year-old’s breast he would spend his life in prison and always be remembered as a pervert. He said I never touched one . It was true, they were younger. They live a lie . He did spend the rest of his life in prison.

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