No More Time Changes
Put an end to 'Standard Time' and make 'Daylight Saving Time' the permanent time.
History:
According to NASA, the concept of Daylight Saving Time (DST) was created by Benjamin Franklin in order to make the best use of daylight hours during the summer months. The idea is to adjust time on the clock forward one hour in the spring in order to enjoy more light in the evening and reduce the need for candles during waking hours. Daylight Saving Time was first used during World War I in order to conserve precious fuel used to generate artificial lighting. It was discontinued after the war, then used again for the same purpose during World War II. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made DST official by signing the Uniform Time Act into US federal law. Daylight Saving Time began the last Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October each year. That law was then amended in 1986 to extend DST to the first Sunday in April and then amended again in 2005 via an energy policy to extend it another four weeks beginning in 2007. States are allowed to opt-out by passing a state law. Hawaii and Arizona do not currently observe DST.
Issues:
While enjoying more daylight in the evening hours allows us to be more active and use less energy to power our homes and offices, adjusting to a change in time causes stress on our bodies in several different ways. According to CNN, "Research published in 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine found the incidence of heart attack 'was significantly increased for the first 3 weekdays after the transition to daylight saving time in the spring' -- some 5 percent. The study used 20 years of data from Sweden. And a study of Australian statistics over three decades suggests that suicide rates - especially among men - increase after the time-change, concluding 'small shifts in diurnal rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals.'" In addition to an increased risk of heart attack and suicide, it has been found that the rate of vehicle accidents spikes on the day after the time change, presumably because of the lost hour of sleep.
As it stands, we turn our clocks backwards an hour in the fall at the end of DST, thereby making the sun set an hour earlier and increasing the number of hours during the winter that we light and heat our homes. If DST is supposed to be such a great energy saver, then why not extend it all year and eliminate our semiannual time adjustments?
Proposal:
I am asking you to repeal the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and amend the Standard Time Act of 1918 to make DST or 'summer time' the standard time year-round.
According to NASA, the concept of Daylight Saving Time (DST) was created by Benjamin Franklin in order to make the best use of daylight hours during the summer months. The idea is to adjust time on the clock forward one hour in the spring in order to enjoy more light in the evening and reduce the need for candles during waking hours. Daylight Saving Time was first used during World War I in order to conserve precious fuel used to generate artificial lighting. It was discontinued after the war, then used again for the same purpose during World War II. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made DST official by signing the Uniform Time Act into US federal law. Daylight Saving Time began the last Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October each year. That law was then amended in 1986 to extend DST to the first Sunday in April and then amended again in 2005 via an energy policy to extend it another four weeks beginning in 2007. States are allowed to opt-out by passing a state law. Hawaii and Arizona do not currently observe DST.
Issues:
While enjoying more daylight in the evening hours allows us to be more active and use less energy to power our homes and offices, adjusting to a change in time causes stress on our bodies in several different ways. According to CNN, "Research published in 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine found the incidence of heart attack 'was significantly increased for the first 3 weekdays after the transition to daylight saving time in the spring' -- some 5 percent. The study used 20 years of data from Sweden. And a study of Australian statistics over three decades suggests that suicide rates - especially among men - increase after the time-change, concluding 'small shifts in diurnal rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals.'" In addition to an increased risk of heart attack and suicide, it has been found that the rate of vehicle accidents spikes on the day after the time change, presumably because of the lost hour of sleep.
As it stands, we turn our clocks backwards an hour in the fall at the end of DST, thereby making the sun set an hour earlier and increasing the number of hours during the winter that we light and heat our homes. If DST is supposed to be such a great energy saver, then why not extend it all year and eliminate our semiannual time adjustments?
Proposal:
I am asking you to repeal the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and amend the Standard Time Act of 1918 to make DST or 'summer time' the standard time year-round.
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