Saying I HATE Daylight Savings Time is not too strong a sentiment, which is why I tend to like any idea which puts the kabosh on it, like this one. It’s very intriguing, and goes one step further. What do you think?
Daylight saving time in the US ends Nov. 3, part of the an annual ritual where Americans (who don’t live in Arizona or Hawaii) and residents of 78 other countries including Canada (but not Saskatchewan), most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand turn their clocks back one hour. It’s a controversial practice that became the official standard in America in 1966 and adjusted throughout the 1970s with the intent of conserving energy.. The fall time change feels particularly hard because we lose another hour of evening daylight, just as the days grow shorter. It also creates confusion because countries that observe daylight saving change their clocks on different days.
It would seem to be more efficient to do away with the practice altogether. The actual energy savings are minimal, if they exist at all. Frequent and uncoordinated time changes cause confusion, undermining economic efficiency. There’s evidence that regularly changing sleep cycles, associated with daylight saving, lowers productivity and increases heart attacks. Being out of sync with European time changes was projected to cost the airline industry $147 million a year in travel disruptions. But I propose we not only end Daylight Saving, but also take it one step further.
This year, Americans on Eastern Standard Time should set their clocks back one hour (like normal), Americans on Central and Rocky Mountain time do nothing, and Americans on Pacific time should set their clocks forward one hour. After that we won’t change our clocks again – no more daylight saving. This will result in just two time zones for the continental United States. The east and west coasts will only be one hour apart. Anyone who lives on one coast and does business with the other can imagine the uncountable benefits of living in a two-time-zone nation (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
It sounds radical, but it really isn’t…
The people on the west side of the zone would have to wait awfully long for the sun to come up. I don’t mind 4 time zones.
I agree. I cant wait for 8AM daylight, I cant imagine waiting till 11AM for it.
WARNING: As resident TAM defender of DST, long-winded spiel to follow.
I don’t know the name of this article, but I’m calling it, The Affordable Caring Time Zone Act. Author proposes Central and Mountain time zones stay permanently on DST, and Pacific time zone to stay on DST plus one hour. While we will no longer change our clocks, I find it a curious solution that west coast night people would want to live on double DST permanently. As an east coast day person, okay by me. Alright I lied, it’s not okay by me, it’s stupid. Vancouver would become 2 hours behind Seattle. And school kids in Chicago and Denver would wait for the bus in the freezing dark (there’s a reason why DST is not in the winter).
In addition to the actual changing of the time affecting people, I think there are possibly 2 effects of DST. One; people who work outside get disconnected from the rest of us. My uncle the dairy farmer used to say regarding DST; the cows want to be milked, when the cows want to be milked. So regardless of whether he milked at 5am or 4am, it was the same to the cows. They and he were working to the sun. But his family was living to the clock, school starts at, banks close at,… Therefore, my uncle would become disconnected from his family for one additional hour clock time each day, which was likely a greater impact of mental isolation.
Two; unlike most animals, mammals love the night. We have the night vision. The optic nerve goes straight into the brain. We have sensitivity to light, intensity and duration. I believe duration mostly is tied to, I need darkness to get some sleep. I have worked shift work and it’s hard to sleep during the day. But what if our night vision requires that there be some balance between daylight and darkness. If so, then DST would make that balance more difficult for night people.
In might make more sense health wise for adults to be on standard time during the summer and DST during the winter. We would lose the leisure mental health benefit, but might gain in physical body benefit. Of course then there would be the school kids freezing in the dark issue. Which argues for being on standard time year round.
It’s dark outside as I type this. Hate that.
Cheers.
Time zones were set up to roughly conform to a 24-hour day in a 360-degree world. Apparently the logic behind this two American time zones scheme is to make it easier for people on the coasts to do business.
How generously inclusive to call the suggested time zones East and West instead of New York and California. It’s as though the middle country is deemed a wasteland filled with people who live in the past anyway so who cares. Well, the agricultural lifestyle of many middle Americans is quite dependent on sunrise and sunset hours. Their work is every bit as important as what the coastal hotshots do.
As to DST, if people in various time zones don’t synchronize, drop it.
p.s. I have heard people on the East Coast complain that California is three hours behind when you want them and three years ahead when you don’t.
Time zones should run East-West. Days get longer or shorter depending on how far North you are.
I join Tammy in condemning the unholy, artificial daylight savings time. I don’t care how many time zones we have, I just want DST gone.
DST serves no purpose in the current era and needs to be discontinued; however, only two continental time zones for the USA would be very problematic from the stand point of such considerations as shipping estimates/locations and a organization’s associated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning; e.g., SAP, Oracle, EDS, etc.); not to mention the upheaval of basic scheduling of activities–professional as well as personal.
Now that I got my hour back (the one I “lost” in the Summer), I would be in favor of the proposal. I’d especially like being able to communicate with my friends and family on the Left Coast without having to stay up until the late evening before placing my calls.
No. I love DST and enjoy Standard time through the winter months. All that messing around with time could really mess with people’s minds and bodies. 4 time zones are what we are used to. Just leave it alone.
I have always hated DST. It is a one-size-fits-all government solution to a non-problem that ought to be addressed by individuals, schools and corporations as they see fit.
Is it dark when the kids go to school? Start later. Duh. Want your employees to enjoy the summer evening? Let them start and leave earlier – and miss rush hour as a bonus. Unlike the rotation of the earth, these things can be easily changed. In a world where your customer service rep can be on the other side of the planet, screwing with the clocks is so 1789.
Yes, kill DST. My only concern is that most proposals to “end” DST actually make it year round instead. I want Standard Time, where the sun stands due south at noon (+/- 30 minutes depending on your location). The idea for only two time zones is an idea only a communist could love. But Obamao doesn’t care – for him it’s always tee-time.
Ok, two time zones is something to consider. But lets take it one step farther. Let’s build a wall between the two time zones, and move all conservatives to the western zone, and all collectivists to the eastern zone. Anyone trying to cross the wall gets thrown into the ocean.