Should Daylight Saving Time be brought to an end? Why continue Daylight Saving Time? What are the pros and cons?

Traditions tend to occur annually, but once American tradition is biannual. The latter is the complaining about Daylight Saving Time.

Before dealing with the pros and cons of Daylight Saving Time, let’s get some facts out of the way:

1 — It is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight Savings Time.

“The correct term is ‘Daylight Saving Time‘ and not ‘Daylight Savings Time’ (with an extra ‘s’), though many of us are guilty of saying it the wrong way. The technical explanation is that the word ‘saving’ is singular because it acts as part of an adjective rather than a verb.”¹

2 — No, farmers do not benefit from Daylight Saving Time.

“Contrary to popular belief, American farmers did not lobby for daylight saving to have more time to work in the fields; in fact, the agriculture industry was deeply opposed to the time switch when it was first implemented on March 31, 1918, as a wartime measure. The sun, not the clock, dictated farmers’ schedules, so daylight saving was very disruptive.”²

3 — No, Daylight Saving Time did not originate with Benjamin Franklin, despite that claim being made in the 2004 film National Treasure.

“Many sources also credit Benjamin Franklin for being the first to suggest seasonal time change. However, the idea voiced by the American inventor and politician in 1784 can hardly be described as fundamental for the development of modern DST. After all, it did not even involve turning the clocks. In a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris, entitled ‘An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light,’ Franklin simply suggested that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning. What’s more: Franklin meant it as a joke.”³

4 — The USA has already tried year-round Daylight Saving Time.

“An oil embargo by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries led Congress to enact a test period of year-round daylight-saving time in 1974 and 1975. The test period was controversial; it ended after complaints that the dark winter mornings endangered children traveling to school. The U.S. returned to summer daylight-saving time in 1975.”⁴

5 — In the USA, an individual state cannot start year-round Daylight Saving Time simply by passing a state law.

“The ultimate stumbling block for fans of year-round daylight saving time is the federal 1966 Uniform Time Act, which became law because of the random way states had been observing daylight saving time up until then. The act said states either have to change the clocks to daylight saving time at a specified time and day or stick with standard time throughout the year.”⁵

Now, we can go to pros and cons.

Con: Daylight Saving Time doesn’t really add daylight. Places without Daylight Saving Time function just fine without it.

Con: Some clocks are just too difficult to change .

Con: It is difficult for parents to get their young children to go to bed at 9 PM when the children can still see plenty of daylight.

Con: Not everyone works a 9AM-to-5PM shift. Thus, allowing people to leave work before sunset is rendered moot. So, do we really need to cater to 9-to-5 workers?

Uh . . . I withdraw the question.

Con: Daylight Saving Time has a negligible effect on energy consumption.

“The original rationale for the adoption of daylight saving time (DST) was to conserve energy; however, the effects of DST on energy consumption are questionable or negligible. Conversely, there is substantial evidence that DST transitions have the cumulative effect on sleep deprivation with its adverse health effects. In light of current evidence, the European Commission in 2018 decided that biannual clock change in Europe would be abolished. Current indirect evidence supports the adoption of perennial standard time, which aligns best with the human circadian system and has the potential to produce benefits for public health and safety.”⁶

In short, Daylight Saving Time could be eliminated altogether.

Now, for the pro. Here is Daylight saving Time:

Do we really want to ruin their happiness?

Featured Image in Public Domain.

¹The Old Farmer’s Almanac

²The History Channel

³Time and Date AS

⁴Cable News Network

⁵USA Today

⁶National Library of Medicine