Dem
47
GOP
53
Even the clock is political now. Everything is political. But oddly enough, it is not really Democrats vs. Republicans or city folks vs. rural folks. It's a weird hodge-podge depending on latitude and how close people are to a time zone boundary. It's the same old, same old issue: daylight saving time (which doesn't save any daylight, it just moves it around).
Yesterday, the country (except for Hawaii and most of Arizona) sprang forward. Today, most of the country is a bit groggy and sleep deprived. Donald Trump promised to eliminate daylight saving time, but has discovered that it is not so easy because his own supporters are badly divided, depending on where they live. The current dates for hacking the clock were set by George W. Bush. Extending DST by a month was his energy policy: more sunlight = less energy use, in theory.
The original DST idea was a 1918 wartime measure to save coal and avoid "wasting" precious sunlight very early in the morning. It also made beautiful summer evenings longer, which was very popular. One of us, (V), was once in northern Finland in June and people were strolling in the parks at midnight eating ice cream cones and having a wonderful time as though it were noon.
The main downside of the current spring forward, fall back scheme is that everyone gets 1 hour of jetlag twice a year and resetting the clock on everything from a clock radio to an oven is a pain, especially since the way to do it is different for every device and most residences now have something with a clock in it every 10 feet. Fortunately, smart phones do it automatically, but there is still a lot to do manually.
People who want to get rid of DST are equally divided between those who want standard time all year and those who want summer time (DST) all year. In 2022, the Senate passed a bill using summer time the entire year. Then everyone woke up. Lobbying from health groups, dubbed Big Sleep, managed to get the bill killed in the House.
Here's the problem: Health researchers believe that year-round standard time fits the human circadian rhythm best. Morning commutes would be in daylight all year in most places with standard time, resulting in fewer accidents. Children would wait for school buses in the light. However, it would get dark early, as early as 4 p.m. in some places in the winter, requiring more electric lighting and heating in the evening. People would miss the long summer evenings they could enjoy with all-year summer time.
On the other hand, permanent summer time not only gives long summer evenings, but allows people to go home from work in the light and this has been shown to reduce street crime (criminals like to work in the evening and in the dark, so less dark in the evening means less crime). With sunlight later, people shop more after work, which is good for the economy. Also they play more. The golf industry says DST is worth $200-400 million per year. More light in the evening promotes more outdoor recreation and less TV watching, which is a health benefit. Chambers of commerce like permanent summer time for the economic benefits. However, in northern states, many people would go to work in the dark and children would go to school in the dark. This could lead to more accidents in the morning.
Another factor—and this is what is confusing Trump—is that the effects of DST depend to a considerable amount where one is in the local time zone. Here is a map where the effects can be seen:
Bangor, ME, and Indianapolis, IN, are both in the Eastern Time Zone, but on Dec. 21 sunrise is at 7:10 a.m. in Bangor and at 8:02 a.m. in Indianapolis. That means that kids in Bangor will be going to school in the light in December but partly in the dark in Indianapolis. Bangor wins! But wait. Sunset is 3:57 p.m. in Bangor that day, so after-school hockey practice will be in the dark. In Indianapolis, hockey practice can be longer since the sun doesn't set there until 5:23 p.m. on Dec. 21.
There is also a north-south effect. Bismarck, ND, and San Antonio, TX, are at the same longitude but sunrise is at 8:25 a.m. in Bismarck Dec. 21 and 7:25 in San Antonio that day. Kids in Bismarck go to school in the dark in winter; kids in San Antonio don't. With year-round DST, add one hour to each of these times. This means that sunrise in Indianapolis would be at 9:02 a.m. on Dec. 21. Not everyone would be so keen on that.
These regional differences pit one group of people against another not depending on politics but largely on where one lives in one's time zone and one's latitude. This is why Trump can't stake out a position and stick to it. No matter what he says, some of his supporters will be very unhappy. (V)