WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate proved this week that it can put aside partisan differences to achieve a common goal in some areas. Daylight Savings Time is the question.
The Senate unanimously agreed Tuesday that it would like to extend the practice of “springing ahead”, an annual ritual, by one hour per year. The nation’s clock-watchers are now waiting to see what the House does with the “Sunshine Protection Act.”
Despite the overwhelming support of the Senate for the proposal, American opinions about permanent DST are not uniform. Some Americans have already cast doubt on it.
Washington isn’t new to this topic. There have been many proposals over the past 60-years to regulate how the country sets its clocks. Washington passed an earlier law that made DST permanent.
Daylight Savings Time was not regulated by any national laws from the 1960s to the end of World War II. Each state and each entity within it followed its own rules. Local differences caused havoc on broadcasting and transit schedules. Washington passed the Uniform Time Act (1996). The Uniform Time Act established a schedule for DST, with the nation “springing forward” on the last Sunday of April and then “falling back”, on the last Sunday of October.
The Emergency Day Light Saving Conservation Act was passed in 1974 as the energy crisis was raging. Daylight Saving Time was made permanent for the whole year. For a trial period of two years, it was. Congress stopped the experiment because people were unhappy with the dark winter mornings, especially for schoolchildren. They returned to their old schedule.
Washington extended DST for approximately five weeks in 1987 by moving it from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of April (rather that the last).
Finally, Washington changed the day we switched the clocks in 2007. The clocks now spring forward on the second Sunday of March and fall back on the first Sunday of November.
This is a lot clock manipulation. Except for the revolt of the 1970s, most of the movement has been towards codifying and extending DST. What would happen if the Senate bill is passed by the House and President Joe Biden signs it into effect? There are many reasons to be skeptical.
Some prefer an early sunrise while others prefer a later sunset. Monmouth University conducted a poll this week that showed a split public.
A majority of respondents, 44 percent, preferred moving the clock forward for the entire year. However, 35 percent preferred to keep the clocks changing as they are. Another 13 percent desired to eliminate DST and use “standard time” throughout the year.
Using the math, it is apparent that slightly more people would prefer not to have this bill approved by Senate this week.
The numbers change a little when you consider the latitude at which respondents live. People who live over the 42nd Parallel (which is the most significant part of the border between New York City and Pennsylvania) are slightly more likely want DST to remain the same.
One reason could be that sunlight is scarce in northern areas during winter. For instance, Miami was blessed with 10.5 hours of daylight on January 1st, 2015. Boston had nine hours of daylight. You can’t alter the tilt of the earth’s orbit no matter how many clocks you use. Living in the north may mean that you are more focused on maximising daylight.
Beyond the obvious differences between the south and north, there are also important east-west variations. It can be difficult to keep track of time zones and sunrise and sunset can appear very differently on their edges.
Take a look at some of the major cities to see how permanent DST might affect them during winter.
The numbers change a little when you consider the latitude at which respondents live. People who live over the 42nd Parallel (which is the most significant part of the border between New York City and Pennsylvania) are slightly more likely want DST to remain the same.
One reason could be that sunlight is scarce in northern areas during winter. For instance, Miami was blessed with 10.5 hours of daylight on January 1st, 2015. Boston had nine hours of daylight. You can’t alter the tilt of the earth’s orbit no matter how many clocks you use. Living in the north may mean that you are more focused on maximising daylight.
Beyond the obvious differences between the south and north, there are also important east-west variations. It can be difficult to keep track of time zones and sunrise and sunset can appear very differently on their edges.
Take a look at some of the major cities to see how permanent DST might affect them during winter.
