What you should know
- The Sunlight Protection Act would make daylight saving time the new permanent time
- The United States Senate approved the legislation in March 2022
- The House of Representatives has not yet ruled
SAN DIEGO — Dark, sleepless mornings and nights that fall earlier than expected are upon us again. Daylight saving time ends on November 6 so all Americans except Hawaii and Arizona will turn their clocks back one more hour.
If you vaguely remember something about a bill to stop the time change and make it permanent, it’s not just your sleep-deprived brain talking.
Changing the clock twice a year is a rather unpopular ritual. Many states have introduced legislation to keep daylight saving time year-round, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Here’s a battle update to finish it off.
In March 2022, the The Senate unanimously approved a law that would make daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023, meaning Americans would stop moving their clocks forward or forward twice a year.
The House of Representatives must first pass the bill, then President Joe Biden must sign it, before Americans can say goodbye to the time change.
While the House has yet to address the proposal “Sunlight Protection LawHouse Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone supports ending DST, but is undecided whether to support daylight or standard time as the permanent choice of time.
A study published in Cell Press in 2020 found that moving forward an hour each year increases the risk of fatal traffic accidents by 6%. The University of Michigan found a 24% increase in the number of heart attacks that occurred on Monday just after the time change, compared to other Mondays.
Didn’t Californians vote to eliminate daylight saving time in 2020?
Yes, the Californians did. So why do we keep changing our clocks then?
San Diegans may remember voting on California Proposition 7 in 2018.
It’s the proposal was approved by almost 60% of the votesgiving the California Legislature the ability to change daylight saving time, according to Ballotpedia.
Proposition 7 didn’t actually change daylight saving time, it just gave the state legislature the ability to change it, IF they get a two-thirds vote and IF the federal government allows it.
What would San Diego look like if daylight saving time outside permanente?
Hypothetically speaking, if daylight saving time (the time from March to November) were made permanent, what time would sunrise and sunset be in San Diego? This is how it would be.
winter sunrises
The November 7 (the day after daylight saving time ends), the sun would rise at 7:12 a. m.according to information from the Global Systems Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 2022.
In the christmas morningyou could be opening presents while watching the sun rise at 7:49 a. m.
When the first day of spring came March 20the sun rose at 6:52 a. m. in San Diego in 2022.
Due to the clock changing ritual, sunrise does not occur later than 6:52 a. m. during standard time (the months between the clock changing ritual). During daylight saving time, the sun rises several times after 7 a. m.mainly in October and November.
Without Daylight Saving Time, San Diegans Would Likely See The Sun Rise between 7 and 8 a.m. during the winter months, which means those winter mornings would be darker.
winter sunsets
Many sun-loving people do not like early nightfall. This is what a winter night would look like if we stayed in daylight saving time in San Diego:
On Thanksgiving this year, the sun with I would put at 5:43 p. m. but due to the time change, the sun would set earlier at 4:43 p. m.
Three months after the typical time change, San Diegans would be watching the sun set at 6:26 p. m. Instead, we are watching the sun set at 5:26 p. m. the feb. 6.
In general, it seems that the sun sets earlier with the time change.
In other words, if you like bright mornings in winter, you can recommend keeping daylight savings time, and if you like longer afternoons in spring and summer, you can also recommend keeping daylight savings time.
Why do we have daylight saving time in the first place?
In 1918, Americans began making Americans change their clocks to allow for more daylight hours during the warmer months, according to NBC News. In 2007, the deadline was extended by four weeks. States are not actually required by law to follow daylight saving time. Arizona and Hawaii have chosen not to observe it.
Why yet do we have summer time?
In 1974, an energy crisis gripped the nation, instating the Emergency Daylight Savings Conservation Act, which made daylight saving time permanent for two years. Congress ended the law early because people complained about dark winter mornings, especially for school children, according to NBC News. After that, they returned time to its original course.