Thread: Permanent summer time

It's been in the news lately that a lot of authorities are seriously considering staying on Daylight Savings full time.

I don't really have an opinion because I kind on look forward to the clocks changing, I am easily bored LOL.

The opponents of permanent Summer time have said that they feel it might cause accidents because of the darker mornings, interesting.

When I still lived in England, the argument for permanent summertime was that winter time makes the evenings dark earlier and the kids have to walk home from school in the dark.

It seems that there is an argument for both Summer and Winter time, darker mornings or darker evenings.

Originally Posted by STF

When I still lived in England, the argument for permanent summertime was that winter time makes the evenings dark earlier and the kids have to walk home from school in the dark.

It seems that there is an argument for both Summer and Winter time, darker mornings or darker evenings.

I never cared about it... until I grew older and finally retired. Now, I like when it gets dark early — it's a "signal" that the day is winding down and that it's time to transition from "active" to "passive".

I particularly dislike eating my evening meal while it's still bright/light outside. Having spent five years in Alaska (Anchorage and Fairbanks) and lived through both extremes (24-hour dark, and 24-hour light), I'll take the former — try to imagine the effects of nearby construction projects at 2AM on a Summer "night"... for months on-end.

I have never ever seen the point or benefit of changing the clocks, try as I might I cannot see the logic behind it, in my 63 years on this planet I can't think of one single occasion where this practice helped me, I only wish the UK Government would vote to scrap it.

Some of us can get really worked up about it.

Dear ------,

As you are my Representative in the House, I am writing you to request that you vote "no" to extending Daylight Savings Time throughout the year, as advocated by Senators Markey and Rubio and as recently passed by the Senate. A brief explanation as to why is given below.

First, I agree with the Senate that we should adhere to a fixed set of hours, rather than two, to measure the 24-hour cycle for two of the reasons given by advocates for a permanent Daylight Savings Time: biological and social stresses as introduced by such changes. But where I disagree is in settling upon Daylight Savings Time as the permanent daily time cycle. Rather, I think that we should be making Standard Daylight Time, or an hour earlier, the default. Add to this the long-standing argument stressing the need for early morning daylight to send children to school during the winter months.

The reason has to do with when "solar noon" actually occurs during the day, solar noon being the moment when the sun is perceived as being highest in the sky (or "high noon") during the day. Living in our Congressional district, which is currently under Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), solar noon occurred at 12:52 p.m. today (March 15,2022), or 52 minutes later than what we called noon. Had we been under Eastern Standard Time (EST), which we were just last week, solar noon would have occurred at 11:52 a.m., or only 8 minutes earlier. Such a change is significant as our biology, as well as the rest of animal and plant life, is oriented towards the rising and setting of the sun each day, with solar noon (rather than an arbitrary human construct) occurring in between. Moving noon further away from this, as is the case in introducing Daylight Savings Time, represents a form of natural destabilization.

As our Congressional district is towards the east of the Eastern Time region, let us look at how Daylight Savings Time affects a City towards the west of the Eastern Time region: Indianapolis, Indiana, for example. There, solar noon occurred at [1:53 p.m.] today, or [1 hr. and 53] minutes later than what they called noon. In other words, it was still very much morning, or [10:07 a.m.] in solar time, as far the natural world was concerned. From this, one can see how further destabilizing Daylight Savings Time can be.

In closing, I note that both Senators Markey and Rubio represent States on the East Coast of the United States. Perhaps it would also be worthwhile to listen to the views of your colleagues in the House who represent the western parts of the respective Time Zones who would be affected by such a change to have a better appreciation of the issues at stake.

Thank you for allowing me to air my concerns here. Again, I urge you to vote "no" to Daylight Savings Time throughout the year as approved by the Senate. In its place, I think we should be pushing for Standard Daylight Time throughout the year.

Sincerely yours,

[brontosaurus]

Being further away from the equator might cause it to make more sense than it does here but I can see no reason either. It just chaps my backside twice a year when they do that. The arguments I have heard are about kids going to and from school in the dark blah blah blah. If these things are a problem I wish they would split the difference, change it to 30 in the middle and LEAVE IT THE HELL THERE!
All things being said and clocks not withstanding, the sun rises and falls as it wills and does not care what we call it. Why can't we just pick a measurement and stay with it?

to me, it doesn't matter much. I normally work a 12 to 14-hour shift so it's usually dark on the way to work and on the way home. I don't think shifting things one hour ever did much for me except it gave me the chance to be sure all the clocks were set right. Now the idea of a solar noon time match sounds like a good idea but how would that work worldwide. There must be a standard that the world can use.

I have to say that although i like the clocks changing, if we were to choose a time and stick with it i think it should be standard (winter) time because that's the real time. Summertime is just pretend time.

In fact during WWII, Britain actually had double summer time to give more daylight to dig for Britain (grow vegetables etc)

Originally Posted by Gasman

to me, it doesn't matter much. I normally work a 12 to 14-hour shift so it's usually dark on the way to work and on the way home. I don't think shifting things one hour ever did much for me except it gave me the chance to be sure all the clocks were set right. Now the idea of a solar noon time match sounds like a good idea but how would that work worldwide. There must be a standard that the world can use.

Britain changes their clocks a few weeks behind us so twice a year the time difference goes from 5 hours to 4 hours or 6 hours.

I have to keep that in mind and stay on top of it or else my 10am calls to my daughter in Bedfordshire start coming at unexpected times.

Of course all time zones throughout the world are all based off of Greenwich Meantime, just add or subtract some hours and give it a name (EST etc). Greenwich is in UK of course, damn important country you know.
Shame you Americans fought the war of independence and kicked us out, you would have been an important country by now