Soon, daylight saving time will end. Here are four things to know
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Millions of Americans desire to end the two-year-old time change that disrupts our circadian rhythms and creates confusion. A majority of states in the United States support a permanent shift towards daylight saving time. It would be a victory for a plan that businesses have been praising for over 100 years.
For 2021 daylight saving time officially ends on Sunday, November 7.
Daylight saving is a moneymaker
Many saw the U.S. candy business as a winner when daylight saving was extended to early November 15 years ago. This was because the extra hour of daylight could increase Halloween sales.
According to Michael Downing, a Tufts University professor and author of Spring Forward: Daylight Saving Time Madness, the support for businesses was much greater than that.
"What Americans don't know is that the Chamber of Commerce is the largest lobby for daylight saving in this country since 1915," Downing said in a 2015 video.
"They realized something very early: Workers are more likely to shop when they get home from work if there is daylight.
Abraham Lincoln Filene, of Filene's Department Stores, was one of the first prominent supporters of daylight saving. He was also a driving force behind this movement during World War I. According to Mike O'Malley, historian at George Mason University, other supporters included the gardening and pro-baseball and tennis players.
In 2007, Downing stated to NPR that the golf industry claimed that an additional month of daylight saving would have a $200 million impact on golf club sales and green fees. "The barbecue industry claimed it was worth $100 millions."
19 states believe we should all just move forward
Except for Arizona and Hawaii, daylight saving time is observed in every state. Each year, more states decide it's time for daylight saving to be adopted all year.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, "In the past four years, 19 States have passed legislation or resolutions to provide year-round daylight savings time, if Congress would allow such a change."
The momentum seems to be growing: Between 2015-2019, 29 states passed legislation to eliminate resetting clocks according to the Department of Transportation. This is responsible for daylight saving and time zones.
The states that support the change are from Florida to Washington. Some states said they would link any potential switch to DST decisions by their nearest neighbors to minimize disruptions in areas like the Midwest or New England.
Without Congress' approval, none of these states can act. Sen. Marco Rubio (Republican from Florida) has introduced numerous bills to that effect. His Sunshine Protection Act remains in place at the committee level.
U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, American Samoa, American Samoa, and the U.S Virgin Islands do not observe daylight savings at present.
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Daylight saving is the new standard
Standard time is only in effect for a smaller portion of the year. In 2021 daylight saving time will control the clock for approximately eight months. This is a vast improvement on the original law that divided the year in half.
In recent years, lawmakers have continued to extend the summertime schedule. 1986 was the year that daylight saving began. It started earlier than usual, on the last Sunday of April.
In 2005, Congress changed the date of the start to one month earlier in spring and one week later for the fall. In 2007, the longer timeframe was in effect.
These changes were made in response to the 1966 establishment of daylight savings time, which was passed by Congress in the sci-fi-sounding Uniform Time Act. The U.S. had only attempted daylight saving during World War I or II.
It all began as an energy policy
As a way of saving energy, it has been promoted for decades that the clocks should be shifted during the months with the highest sunlight. The 2005 energy bill, which Congress passed in 2005, was the latest expansion of DST.
Benjamin Franklin, a prominent supporter daylight saving time in the late 1800s, was an advocate. According to the House of Representatives history blog, he "calculated that Paris could save millions of dollars of candlewax each year if residents woke early in the morning" and "went to bed earlier at night,"
It is important to note that, despite Franklin's inspiration, Paris, also known as the City of Light doesn't seem like it has embraced Franklin's idea.
Critics claim that America's idea of saving energy is flawed. We have more options to consume energy than we used to, such as running air conditioners or TV sets at home. According to Downing, we also use more gasoline while driving around in order to get that bonus hour.
He said that "Daylight savings is a loser in terms of an energy plan but it's great for retail spending plans."
Even so, Downing acknowledged that daylight savings is a big hit. He said, "I don’t think it’s ever going away."
