Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Run DST

From NBC News, news that the Senate today approved legislation to make daylight-savings time permanent:

The bill, called The Sunshine Protection Act, was passed by unanimous consent, meaning no senators opposed it. If enacted, the measure would mean Americans no longer need to change their clocks twice a year.
My first thought: moving on this legislation in mid-March gives everyone plenty of time to get ready not to change their clocks in November.

And then I learned that the bill would not take effect until 2023. So there’s at least one more falling back to come.

*

March 17: “Sleep experts say Senate has it wrong: Standard time, not daylight saving, should be permanent” (The Washington Post ). An excerpt, quoting David Neubauer, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University:
The current enthusiasm for permanent daylight saving time is “grossly misguided,” said Neubauer, who predicted a return to “the extremely unpopular 1970s dark winter mornings with commuters going to work and children going to school long before sunrise, inevitably leading to injuries and fatalities.”
In a comment on this post, Joe DiBiase recalls going to school carrying a flashlight.

comments: 7

Joe DiBiase said...

It still needs to pass the House, though I think that that's likely.

Michael Leddy said...

I wavered between “will take effect” and “would take effect.” I think I need “would” to signal that it’s not a done deal.

Joe DiBiase said...

I remember when I was in junior high school that DST was extended. We were going to school with flashlights.

Michael Leddy said...

The energy crisis, right?

Joe DiBiase said...

Yes. There were gas lines, we lowered our thermostat in the house, and had a little sticker on the car windshield that identified us as a preferred customer at the gas station (my Dad had been in the Army with the owner). Not sure what being a preferred customer meant.

Michael Leddy said...

I remember the lines, the NO GAS signs, and odd and even days for filling up (I also remember breaking the rule at our regular gas station).

ksh said...

I remember hitchhiking to New York and getting a ride in New Jersey from a house painter in an Econoline van. When I crawled in the back, I was just about overcome with gas fumes. Apparently all of paint cans, or at least a great number of them, we're filled with gasoline. I hoped that we wouldn't be rear ended. Ahh ... embargo memories.