The Stupidity of Permanent Daylight Saving Time

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. While that bill would still need to clear the Senate, it's still difficult for me to believe that it passed the House because of how ridiculous Daylight Saving Time is in the first place.

If you use more daylight, you'll help win the war. So the rationale went.

The Wartime Lie

Daylight Saving Time was first introduced during World War One as a way to save on fuel consumption by pretending the time was an hour later. This is also when Daylight Saving Time was introduced for part of the year; otherwise, "permanent" Daylight Saving Time would just be moving the time zone boundary westward. However, it wasn't until the Uniform Time Act in 1966 that the whole country began having Daylight Saving Time at the same time of year. Then, Arizona and Hawaii opted out of Daylight Saving Time, and I think those states made the right choice.

Where Midday is Already at 1pm Without Daylight Saving Time

Even without Daylight Saving Time, many areas of the United States (and the world, for that matter) are in areas where their time zone is too far ahead. This means that even during Standard Time, the Sun is at its highest point in the sky well after the clock says 12:00. For example, in my hometown of Minneapolis, midday is at 12:15 without Daylight Saving Time. When Daylight Saving Time is used, midday is at 1:15pm. When it is midday in Philadelphia, the clock would say 12:00 in Minneapolis! There's a brilliant illustration of this difference between solar time and clock time if you read the blog post "How much is time wrong around the world?" by Stefano Maggiolo. By reading that post, you'll also see that very few areas have midday before 11:30 when using Standard Time. Other areas, such as central Alaska, already have midday at 1:00pm, which means permanent Daylight Saving Time would put midday all the way to 2pm year-round. All being told, most areas are more closely aligned with solar time if they use Standard Time. Daylight Saving Time effectively shifts everyone one time zone to the east.

Tough to Get Up in the Morning? It Could be Tougher!

Many people find it difficult to get up in the morning if it's still dark outside, including myself. If sunrise isn't until 8:00 in the winter, I find it difficult to feel well-rested if I wake up at 7 or earlier. Do we really want to introduce permanent Daylight Saving Time, which would make the Sun rise at 9 instead?

Some supporters of Daylight Saving Time love the idea of later sunsets. Alright, but that naturally comes in the spring and summer. Earlier sunsets make us feel more ready for bed. I think it's better to be sleepy for bed and awake for getting up, not the other way around, don't you?

Conclusion

While most would agree that it would be nice not to have to switch clock times twice a year, the dumber of the two alternatives seems to be the more popular one. I can't understand why. I hope that you, on the other hand, will understand why the wartime lie called Daylight Saving Time should not be the time used year-round. I hope you will also understand why getting rid of Daylight Saving Time would be the best choice.