Permanent daylight saving time plan nets rare unanimous US Senate vote

On Tuesday, the US Senate lodged a rare unanimous vote on a bill that could have drastic technological and transportation implications: a permanent, year-round adherence to daylight saving time.

The one-page "Sunshine Protection Act", which was co-sponsored by Sen. Whitehouse, was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate and is now ready for a vote in the House. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 would reverse the introduction of a twice-a-year clock-changing process in 1918.

The result would leave clocks and timetables in the state of Spring forward, with the exception of states that had previously established specific time- change rules based on issues like different time zones in the same state. In terms of US politics, it is not clear whether either major American party will mount serious opposition in the House to its eventual vote there, and President Joe Biden has yet to announce his stance on the bill.

Why it started, what it does (and doesn’t) save

After a wave of European nations embraced the practice in 1916, the US adopted it. The exact time frame was updated when time changes would occur.

The European Union was on the verge of doing away with Daylight Saving Time after a successful vote in its Parliament. The original goal of ending the time change process in 2021 required collaboration by EU committees, which instead punted the time change process in favor of coronaviruses reactions. It is not clear when or how the EU will vote in favor of dumping DST.

The original purpose of DST was to conserve energy based on how much sunlight is available in a given season, but it has not been proven to be applicable to a modern, electricity-driven world. In 2008 the US Department of Energy had an estimate of 0.03 percent energy savings per year.

A US National Institute of Health study in 2004 concluded that the end of Daylight Saving Time would result in a statistically significant reduction in deaths for both car passengers and bystander pedestrians.

Probably not another Y2K

The results of the US changing its Daylight Saving Time calendar did not cause Y2K-like havoc. When consumer- and enterprise-grade computers weren't as likely to have a permanent online connection, they got constant updates that ranged from security databases to full-blown OS updates. Ars reminded MacOS readers that there were hoops they had to jump through to ensure that their systems would update in line with the US.

When considering what changes may be needed to align the US's many calendar-based systems, the 2007 shift is still a recent-enough footnote to reference.

There is a consideration of not losing up to a week per year adjusting our own biological clocks to align with a significant boost to our alarms, commute, and school activities. This drives the loudest and most persistent protests from populations across the world to drop the practice once and for all.