Savor this weekend.
The American people have asked for it for many years, "it" being the end of the twice a year madness of clocks moving an hour ahead in mid-March. The next installment of this less popular March Madness will happen tomorrow at 2a.m. local time except in a handful of states (Hawaii and parts of Arizona) which never adopted Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving (not Savings) Time has an interesting history in the United States.
This year, we may get our wish, but, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
Several states have already enacted legislation but it is not simple as states saying their law is year round Daylight Saving Time. Is it ever simple?
As the laws are written now, a state can stay on Standard Time (the time we in the United States are all on between the first Sunday in November and the middle Sunday of March) if it wishes by legislation - no federal input or law change is necessary.
That's how Hawaii and parts of Arizona have done it.
However, Federal legislation can be passed and signed into law to create a year round Daylight Saving Time. Right now, some 19 states have enacted such legislation, and more are in that process, but these laws can't go into effect without Federal legislation permitting it. Senator Marco Rubio has gotten such legislation passed in the Senate but, to date, no such bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
The year round Daylight Saving Time has been tried before, and I can remember one of those times (January of 1974). When the year round Daylight Saving Time was put into effect (in late 1973, to be effective in January 1974) there was a high amount of public support. We were in the midst of an energy crisis (leading to long gasoline lines, and gas shortages) and the extra hour of daylight in the evening, it was thought, would help. We would have year round Daylight Saving Time for two years.
However, soon after it went into effect, people realized they didn't like the sun rising an hour later than usual. In fact, it was such a disaster that the experiment was cut short. That fall, Standard Time returned.
But, we should savor this weekend. Maybe it really is the last time we will do the time change tango.
Only time (no pun intended) will tell.
Does one hour make so great a difference? It never ceases to amaze me how this topic generates so much discussion every time it happens.
ReplyDeleteYes, I wonder too. So mush fuss on 1 hrs!
DeleteI wish they would just leave us on Standard Time. Our children already get on buses for school in the dark and DST just prolongs that
ReplyDeleteInteresting article.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/11/1162345477/changing-our-clocks-is-a-health-hazard-just-ask-a-sleep-doctor
...I always worked outdoors and I like DLST!!!
ReplyDeleteI say we all go to UTC/GMT.
ReplyDeleteI know California is one of the 19 states. I remember that proposition passed. I was too young to remember the year-round Daylight Saving (I only found out about it when I was looking something up about my brother's birthday). I wouldn't hold my breath about having anything actually happen this year for it.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if less SAD (season affective disorder) would be not as bad for some. If they left the clocks alone.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
It’s a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteI just had to change the clocks on my microwave, my stove and my coffee pot, and the clock in my car has the correct time again (didn’t change it in November). I don’t have a preference, either standard time or Daylight Saving Tine is fine with me, but I just wish we could pick one and stick with it.
ReplyDelete