Time to get rid of Daylight Savings Time
In December, we have the shortest day of the year; six months later we have the longest day of the year. At the midpoints of these dates we have equal hours of day and night (equinox). This is how the calendar works. Daylight saving time is an 18th century method of making more efficient use of daylight in that bygone era when illumination was provided by candles and lanterns. In this era, we can light up a stadium of tens of thousands of seats by merely throwing a switch. Technology has made daylight saving obsolete.
Daylight saving never saved or created anything. It was always the equivalent of taking a book from the top shelf and putting it on the bottom shelf for six months and then putting it back again on the top shelf - every six months. It’s an exercise in futility. Somehow our previous administration decided that we needed eight months of daylight saving. This in spite of the lack of logic or basic understanding of how our calendar works. So now at the end of this year's DST our daylight hours are really out of kilter. Results of the current elections, which are purging former members of Congress, might be a step in eliminating those illogical persons who caused this eight-month mess. Perhaps new legislators will correct this error, but there is an attractive alternative. The better solution: Get rid of DST once and for all permanently. All DST ever did was move the dark hours from the front to the back of its duration. Like moving the book from the top shelf to the bottom shelf, and back again. George J. Valenta Ann Arbor
Comments
Will
Mon, Nov 8, 2010 : 5:39 p.m.
Forget fixing daylight savings time, let's get right to the source: let's devote our scientific resources towards figuring out how to alter the earth's axis so the US gets the optimum amount of daylight all year. I don't understand why I'm the first one to suggest this.
Dave
Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 8:53 a.m.
How about getting rid of standard time and switching to daylight savings time full time? That way, we can have the extra daylight in the evening all winter long...
ralph cramden
Mon, Nov 1, 2010 : 8:33 p.m.
Since the rule is now GMT-4 or GMT-6 or whatever it is eight months of the year, this should be renamed to Standard Time. The other 4 months should be called DST, standing for Daylight Squandering Time.
Speechless
Mon, Nov 1, 2010 : 12:52 p.m.
"... the train system got tired of having to set up different schedules for each individual locality that followed its own time deviation, and was established to get the country on track...." It's corporo-government conspiracy designed to clean our collective clocks. Let us not be railroaded into linear time!  Defy our federal Time Lords now!
Fanizzle
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 10:51 p.m.
@speechless. Time zones and the unification of DST came from the free market. It originally began when the train system got tired of having to set up different schedules for each individual locality that followed its own time deviation and was established to get the country on track. Also, there is no law stating that we must follow DST, just one stating that if we do follow it that it must be done in a uniform matter. Get over this "government wants to run our lives" business and realize that government is an establishment for the voice of the people. Government isn't bad, it's what we make it.
Anthony Clark
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 9:13 p.m.
"Somehow our previous administration decided that we needed eight months of daylight saving. This in spite of the lack of logic or basic understanding of how our calendar works." There certainly was logic involved in that decision. Daylight Saving Time saves energy. People use more energy in the evening when they get home from work. During WWII, Daylight Saving Time was increased by an hour. Clocks were moved ahead by two hours to conserve energy for the war effort. This was the reasoning for extending DST to eight months instead of six.
Mary
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 7:30 p.m.
Time to get rid of day light saving time. give the kids a little more time to get home from School and Play.
Daniel
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 7:27 p.m.
I don't think you're appreciating the value of DST. It solves a tricky coordination problem: how to get everyone to shift their schedules in the summer so as not to waste half of that extra daylight asleep! http://messymatters.com/dst
ralph cramden
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 6:02 p.m.
I wish we could get rid of this stupid thing. I told my wife that I took the trouble of turning the clocks all the way around, in order to not damage them. Of course I thought she understood this was for the Fall cycle. She did not, and did twelve years worth of damage to our clocks this past April. These kinds of ideas show how the world gets to the place where it is today. If it was really a good thing, of course we would not be doing it.
kurtkoeh
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 4:20 p.m.
Michigan is on the western end of the Eastern time zone, because Detroit wanted to be in sync with the major cities of the east coast. Michigan was on central time until 1915 (there was a referendum on this in 1916) and a couple of counties in the UP on the Wisconsin border are still on central time.
AlphaAlpha
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 2 p.m.
Mr. Johnson, It's not about the shape of the time zone; obviously they are similar; it's about the location of the geographic entity relative to the timezone. Michigan is located further to the west within the zone than most localities. So far to the west that nominally, it should be in the Central Time Zone. You might want to look at some time zone maps for verification of these facts.
LilBoPeace
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 12:13 p.m.
I wish we would just keep DST all year round...Michigan is at the very end of the Eastern Time Zone so the time here feels very different than, say, the time, 500 miles away in New York City. I'd rather go to work in the dark and come home with some sunlight.
A2K
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 11:46 a.m.
I say get rid of DST...I hate the month or so of sleep-deprivation/misery that accompanies getting up an hour earlier when we all have to "Spring Forward"...ugh! It upsets everything for weeks! What about traffic fatalities when everyone is driving around on less sleep? If they want people to save energy, keep promoting compact florescent lights, placing TV/electronics on surge-protectors (which you click off when not in use), and simple home insulation etc.
Rod Johnson
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 10:48 a.m.
Alpha, the western edge of every time zone is like that, all 24 of them.
Dalex64
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 10:13 a.m.
I'd rather dump EST and go with EDT all year round. EST is fine if you live on the east coast, but I don't think it works well for us at the tail end of the time zone.
DagnyJ
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 9:04 a.m.
I love DST and wouldn't want to see it changed. In two weeks it will be lighter in the morning when we change the clocks.
Pam Wilson
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 8:58 a.m.
Agreed! DST serves no purpose and is just an annoyance. I vote for EST year round!
Sparky79
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 8:54 a.m.
I'd much rather keep Daylight Savings Time and never roll back the clocks again. I live in one of those parts of Michigan that gets long summer hours--Marquette, where in the peak of summer the sun rises at 6 a.m. and doesn't set until almost 10 p.m. I *love* it that way. I love getting off work at 3:30 p.m. and feeling like I have the whole day ahead of me to enjoy. Having the sun rise at 5 a.m. doesn't do me any good since I'm usually asleep. On the flip side, in winter when we roll back the clocks, the darkest days the sun rises a little after 8:30 a.m. and sets at 5 p.m. Basically you go to work and it's dark and you get off work and it's dark. I'm lucky to get off work at 3:30 p.m., so I have a little time to enjoy, but it feels very rushed, too. The majority who don't get off work until 5 p.m. are almost out of luck to enjoy any outdoors activities (unless it's downhill skiing since that's lit up at night). Keep in mind, too, that we may have the technology to make light at night, but light isn't free, especially these days with a tight economy. For instance, I go to the local dog park, as do many others here (which is a campground in summer time, so there's a paved road around the grounds), but other than the parking lot they do not keep any of the lights around the campground on. So you'll see a mad rush every day around 5 p.m. of people just getting off work trying to get their pets out before daylight fades. Where I live, I'd much rather leave the clocks as they are now. If we did that, I don't care if the sun doesn't rise until 9:30 a.m. during winter. Most people are at work and school at that time. Having the sun not set until 6 p.m. would make our short winter days more enjoyable and give us something to look forward to after work/school. And, as I previously said, summer sunsets at 10 p.m. are awesome.
keepitbalanced
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 8:28 a.m.
NO! I enjoy daylight savings time in the summer. More time outside. More time with the family. I get home at 5:00pm in the summer and it is nice to know that I have a lot of daylight left to enjoy.
AlphaAlpha
Sun, Oct 31, 2010 : 12:10 a.m.
Mr. Johnson - Insofar as latitude is concerned, you are obviously correct; the extreme example being the midnight sun. What escapes many, is the longitudinal aspect; The state should nominally be in the central time zone. Michigan's longitude with respect to the Eastern time zone allows for some of the latest sunsets, in local time, in the world.
bugjuice
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 11:47 p.m.
DST is a scam by and for businesses to make us spend more money and work more hours after coming home from working a full regular day.
LAEL
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 11:15 p.m.
I'm with @jrc: let's return to the old schedule. The new schedule doesn't save any energy, and the earlier "Spring forward" date takes us from light mornings to mornings that are as dark as they are in January again. The old schedule was reasonably well balanced for both mornings and evenings.
Rod Johnson
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 10:57 p.m.
AlphaAlpha: "Due to geography, Michigan has some of the latest sunsets in the world" What!? Most of Michigan is south of the 45th parallel, only halfway to the pole. Almost all of Europe is farther north than us (we're at about the same latitude as Marseille) and consequently has later sunsets in the summer. And of course, late sunsets in summer mean early sunsets in winter. You might equally well have said "Michigan has some of the earliest sunsets in the world."
Speechless
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 10:49 p.m.
Taxpayer-subsidized clock management shows us still another example of government regulation gone completely overboard. Whether EST or EDT, it's just another untimely, intrusive exercise in picking winners and losers. Why would Americans expect federal bureaucrats to give them the time of day? Give us back our timeless self-determination as an independent people, and let the invisible hour & minute hands of the free market determine what time it is at any given time. No zones! Get the government out of our clocks NOW. Especially during a time of great recession, no one should ever be telling us to fall back.
wcchamp4
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 9:22 p.m.
why is this such a big deal?? so it's dark @ 5pm in Dec/Jan. but make up for it in June/July when it gets dark @ 10pm..... there are alot of other issues to worry about than D.S.T.!!! GET OVER IT!!
John Q
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 9:13 p.m.
Dump DST and you can enjoy the sun coming up at 4:55 AM in June. Sounds great! Not to me. If you don't like the late sunrises, move to Chicago or NYC. Even with DST, they never have early sunrises or late sunsets. Myself, I think late sunsets are one of the great gifts of Michigan summers.
dading dont delete me bro
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 8:13 p.m.
"In December, we have the shortest day of the year; six months later we have the longest day of the year." i thought ALL days had 24 hours in them? i say we split it 1/2 hour and LEAVE IT ALONE. for example, this fall, instead of 1 hr, 'fall' back 1/2 hour and don't touch the clocks again EVER. remember the goverment (congress?) passed to move these dates around to save on energy? = big fail.
slug
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 7:55 p.m.
YES, YES, YES! I've been yelling about this for years. Dump it now! Thanks.
morninglory
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 7:02 p.m.
I vote to keep DST. I don't want to be awakened by the sun at 4am in the summer, but I do want to be able to work in my garden until 9:30 or 10:00. Winter is winter and abolishing DST isn't going to have any effect on the timing of winter's sunlight hours.
AlphaAlpha
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 6:21 p.m.
Due to geography, Michigan has some of the latest sunsets in the world, something many natives don't realize or appreciate. Whether EST or EDT, we should choose one, and stay with it. There are significant costs associated with the switch: the switch affects the body's functioning; typically, for up to three days after the switch, awareness, perception, productivity, etc. are affected enough to be noticeable in many areas such as accidents, sick days, missed events, etc., not to mention the simple investment in time needed to correct many timepieces twice per year. The war is over. We can stop playing with the clocks now.
silverwings
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 6:14 p.m.
I love DST. Don't you like being outdoors on summer nights? Give it up, people.
johnnya2
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 6:04 p.m.
Daylight savings is geared for the MAJORITY of people who want more hours in the summer of daylight. There are also lots of energy savings when the MAJORITY of people do not need lights for most of the summer. Top keep some balance in the winter this is changed because the number of hours of darkness changes anyway. There are also other factors that make DST great 1.Crime decrease- criminals work in the dark. They are NOT typically early risers. Most crime happens in the dark. 2. Traffic safety- when more people are on the road, the more light there is the better. 3. Economic benefits- golf courses and many outdoor activities increase business because of later light hours. 4. Increase voter turnout with the new November date (people will go to vote if it is still light out, not so much when it is dark) 5. Polls show 2/3 rds of the people in the United States like it.
Soothslayer
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 5:55 p.m.
BrianR has the main point about commuting. Main benefit of DST is more light during regular hours which reduces traffic fatalaties: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/85/1/92.pdf More people can make use of the light in the afternoon than early in the AM. Also please revoke no alcohol sales before noon on Sunday. Talk about a REAL archaic and useless law what is the purpose of that in today's world?
Sallyxyz
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 5:48 p.m.
Dark mornings make morning commuting more hazardous than it already is. Get rid of DST once and for all! Who needs to be in rush hour traffic driving in the dark at 8 am?
Cash
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 4:43 p.m.
Brilliant idea!! We need a petition to get it on the ballot. Congress can't accomplish anything...we have to do it ourselves.
a2guy1974
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 4:25 p.m.
we could all move to terre haute (IN) where they don't observe dst?
Subroutine
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 4:15 p.m.
@BrianR Nor will technology make obsolete my enjoyment of a warm sunrise at six AM, while the world is quiet. The point is, pick one and stop making us change our clocks twice per year.
BrianR
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 4:01 p.m.
"Technology has made daylight saving obsolete." Far from it. Technology will never make obsolete my enjoyment of daylight on a warm summer evening after I arrive home from my commute from Farmington Hills. This is a bad idea.
PaperTigerSaline
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 3:57 p.m.
YES, what would it take to get RID of Daylight Savings Time? I've never seen a purpose in it at all. Staying dark until 8:00 am is ridiculous. What would it take to get this changed? Does anyone know?
Subroutine
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 3:52 p.m.
I agree with this letter. Daylight saving time accomplishes nothing. There is no logical reason for it. Pick one or the other. Either it's dark in the morning till eight o'clock now or it gets dark at 8 in July, what difference does it really make?
jcj
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.
I am not for getting rid of DST. But I should be scaled back. I did not fall for the logic that was used in starting DST earlier in the spring and running later in the fall a couple years ago. Anyone that fell for that line is missing a couple marbles.
Rod Johnson
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 3:45 p.m.
I love DST, personally. Daylight before 6AM is worthless to me; endless, glorious summer evenings are wonderful.
bobr
Sat, Oct 30, 2010 : 3:42 p.m.
Great idea. We need more daylight in the evening in winter, not less. How can this be changed?