Dumber Than a Box of Rocks

Frank’s Essay - Permanent Daylight Savings Time

I read in the paper Wednesday morning that the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to make day light savings time permanent throughout the United States. I applauded the decision to stop turning our clocks back and forth with the seasons, but I wish they had eliminated daylight savings instead of making it all year.

The concept of setting our clocks ahead an hour in the spring and back in the fall began in America during WWI. Citizens were encouraged to plant “victory gardens”, to help with war-time food shortages. It was thought citizens would have more time to tend their crops after work. Politicians in favor also claimed the extra sunlight would save coal, especially the coal used for electric power generation. The practice had little effect on rural areas, cows still needed milked whether it was light or dark, and farmers tended to begin and end their workday by the sun rather than their clocks. We went back to standard time between the wars, but FDR reinstated it for a few months in 1945 in an attempt to cut down on use of electricity. It didn’t work. Several studies after the war found little or no impact on energy consumption. And the practice was discontinued for most of the country.

The oil crises of the 1970’s got national attention and the argument that daylight savings would somehow conserve gasoline became popular once again. Over the next two or three decades all states except Arizona and Hawaii enacted some form of daylight savings time.

The sponsors of the “Sunshine Protection Act”, contain the same arguments that independent studies have shown to be false. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ed Mackey (Dem Mass) claims the new law will provide more sunshine and less depression. Our own Senator Patty Murry has also spoken out in favor of Sunshine protection. Obviously advocates in the Senate have not done their homework. Studies reveal daylight savings upsets our basic circadian rhythm and actually increases anxiety and depression. Health studies indicate permanent standard time to be best for overall health and safety.

No matter what they believe, our elected officials cannot control the number of daylight hours. The concept of sunshine protection is just plain silly. I prefer “high noon to be when the sun is at its zenith.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.