President Trump supports making daylight saving time "permanent"

[DonViejo]

Source: CBS News


BY JASON SILVERSTEIN

MARCH 11, 2019 / 4:33 PM / CBS NEWS

A growing number of state and federal lawmakers say it's time to rethink daylight saving time. Now the president seems to agree.

President Trump said Monday that he would be "O.K." with extending daylight saving time to be year-round, becoming the most prominent politician yet to support opting out of the biannual clock-changing ritual. "Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!" Trump tweeted, one day after the clocks moved forward an hour for the spring.

Link to tweet

In the U.S., clocks are moved ahead by one hour in March for daylight saving time, depriving us of one hour of sleep, and then go back an hour in November, giving us an extra hour's sleep. The tradition dates to World War I, when it was intended to save on energy costs and supplies, and it has been a federal standard for more than 50 years.

But recently, some lawmakers have advocated for turning back the clock on the tradition. Hawaii and most of Arizona already opt of daylight saving time, and several states — including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin — are considering doing the same. Voters in California last year passed a ballot proposition to make daylight saving time permanent.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-supports-making-daylight-saving-time-permanent/

[samnsara]

1. cuz trump cant set his clocks...

[sandensea]

3. +1

[unc70]

2. More daylight for afternoon golf

[athena]

74. In the middle of the winter?

[RKP5637]

4. It's coming from tRump, but I think it's an excellent idea. n/t

[Locrian]

7. +1 I hate hate the time change!! n/t

[RKP5637]

9. Yep, it's ridiculous in the 21st century to have this time change!!! n/t

[Blue_Tires]

10. I used to think it was fun as a kid, but not that I'm older...

[RKP5637]

12. Yep! Same here! n/t

[RobinA]

36. Well, The Earth's Rotation

hasn’t changed much lately, so we still need to change to adjust for the differing amounts of light.

[trev]

83. I do, too.

But why not stay on standard time? What advantage does daylight time have?

[MH1]

13. Yup. Stopped clock syndrome.

I don't even care which way it goes. Just stop making us change the clocks twice a year.

[rampartc]

52. +1

[Evolve Dammit]

5. Gee that's leadership. How low we've sunk. How about some infrastructure, whatever?

[Dopers_Greed]

6. I hate Daylight Savings

We should just keep the standard time year round.

[pamela]

8. I'm with you.

Hell, I'd even prefer a reverse system to the one we have now-Daylight savings time in the winter and standard time in the summer. It doesn't get dark in New Mexico in the summer until ridiculously late. I hate it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

77. I'm in Santa Fe,

and the latest sunset time we have here is something like 8:23 pm. To me, that's not ridiculously late. It makes for a lovely, long evening in good weather, which I like.

[rurallib]

20. me too - stay with standard time - what we got now is congress taking bribes

Once it was a little more sensible - daylight time during the summer.
But thanks to bribes from the barbecue industry in the spring and candy companies for the fall (halloween) - we have. this aberration with standard time for 4 months a year.

I told my wife yesterday we ought to move clocks ahead 1/2 hour across the US and then never touch them again.

[suffragette]

23. Move clocks by 1/2 hour and keep that time. Seems like

the most sensible compromise.

[athena]

69. I'm sorry, but that's a really stupid idea.

DST is not a universal thing. It’s also not arbitrary. Places close to the equator, such as Hawaii and Guatamala, don’t have DST. I lived in Hawaii for many years. The sun always rises there between 6 and 7 AM and sets between 6 and 7 PM all year round. It would be crazy for them to change their clocks.

People need to understand that the reason sunrise and sunset times vary throughout the year is that the earth’s axis is not perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the sun. That’s also the reason we have seasons. The farther you are from the equator, the bigger the variation in the daylight and between the seasons. Switching everyone by half an hour makes no sense whatsoever. We might as well just all go to UTC.

[suffragette]

70. Seems arbitrary to me when someone like Bush could change when it occurs in the U.S.

I didn’t take that point as being universal, just about discussing how it is implememted in U.S.

I do get your point about Hawaii and it is a good one. They should keep it the way it is there, just as they currently have.

[defacto7]

34. I think we should move the clocks forward 10 minutes a month

for 6 months, then back 10 minutes a month for 6 months to make my sleeping transition easier. Then instead of a leap year we just add 6 hours to my birthday once a year.

[doc03]

54. That means I would have to go through

my owners manual on my car every month.

[athena]

64. I agree.

It makes it really hard to run in the morning. It’s not only unpleasant but dangerous to run in the dark. I’ve had to switch to starting work earlier and running after work, but not everyone can do that.

[SeattleVet]

11. I don't care which one they settle on, just quit changing the time of day.

I'd just as soon have the whole country use UTC (i.e., Greenwich Mean Time) and have businesses, schools, etc. post their hours based on that, instead of figuring out time zones and offsets.

[PJMcK]

58. Right on!

The whole world should be on one 24-hour clock.

What difference does it make what time it is when you go to work or school? You're still going to go during the daylight hours they'll just be called something else.

Within a month or two, people will adjust. They always do.

I wrote a post about this the other day:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211906009

To me, the objections were illogical or nonsensical. In any event, it doesn't matter because nothing is going to change.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. NO.

It will be like January 1974 all over again. Folks have PURE AMNESIA. Children walking to school in the pitch black in the morning carrying flashlights to see (and street lights are useless - it's like Halloween night dark every fucking morning). Yes I was one of those kids with the flashlight walking to the train station on my way to junior high downtown.



They just need to put it back to April & October. That way the transition is not as bad when it comes to daylight in the morning.

[PCIntern]

50. I was just thinking that

When I read your post.
You’re right.

[BumRushDaShow]

56. When I decided to think deeper about this yesterday

I believe the difficulty here is that when the "all year" DST went into effect in '74 (for 16 months from what they mention - January 1974 - April 1975) there was a very narrow age group who were the most extremely impacted by it.

The the older generations and "older" boomers (including the peak boomers) born from 1946 - 1956 were 18 - 28 years old in '74, so it being dark in the morning was no big deal because they were or were close to being grown adults. But for us tail-end boomers (I am a 1962 baby) and the oldest of the GenXers... we remember it very well. The younger GenXers were not in school yet and later generations were not even born so they never experienced it.

So the whole "all-year" DST push might benefit adults, but there will always be an age range of children who will really be negatively impacted (unless they live in the far southern reaches of the U.S. where the day/night hour differences are not as extreme in winter or summer as those further north). And with the increasing prevalence of child predators and nutjobs in vans following/stalking children walking to/from school or to a bus stop, etc., you can imagine what might happen when it is dark in the morning. That might be a bit of hyperbole but I know walking the 2 blocks to my train station with a flashlight was pretty ridiculous but needed. And that is here in Philly!!!

As a note, I used to catch the train (dubbed "the 7:40 Express" ) down to Suburban Station every day (when that was the end of the line before they broke through and made "the tunnel" for that line to go further to Market East, now Jefferson Station ) and it didn't start getting light until we finally got downtown just after 8 am. I then caught the 2 bus the rest of the way. It was pitch black in winter here in Philly at 7:30 in the morning with that stupid DST.

Some articles about it -

https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/30/the-year-daylight-saving-time-went-too-far/
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/endless-summer.html

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

76. Thank you.

I keep on trying to remind people of this and I often feel like I'm the only person who remembers this.

There was a LTE in my local paper (the Santa Fe New Mexican) a few days ago, with someone who apparently has a watch that doesn't work correctly because he was claiming that in the winter it will be pitch black at 4pm. The earliest the sun sets here in winter is 4:50 pm.

In reality, if people are totally determined not to change clocks, we'd be better off sticking with standard time year round. Me, I like the change. I do wish it was April to October, though. Which it used to be when I was a child in NYS, well before the everyone went on and off at the same time.

[BumRushDaShow]

81. No matter which you use - standard or daylight times year round

it won't change the fact that where I am in Philly (40th parallel), it will be daylight for only about 9 hours and night/darkness for about 15 hours at and around the winter solstice period in December... And it will be the reverse in the summer during the summer solstice (15 hours of daylight/9 hours of night/darkness).

The "April/October" seemed to be the best compromise for a transitional lighting time period, with each of those coming about a week or so after an equinox date (for the northern hemisphere).

I know the further north you live, the less hours of daylight you have in winter, so people in the northern tier, International Falls, MN have something less than 6 1/2 hours of daylight during the winter solstice. Of course up in Alaska, there is a period where the sun never really rises at all or is extremely low on the horizon, i.e, places like Barrow (now named Utqiaġvik) have those brief periods where the sun never rises in winter and never sets in summer.

I remember when one of my sisters had visited Sweden during the winter for work and described how it was basically "twilight" much of the day where she was staying, and then the sun went all the way down. That would just bug me out.

[MH1]

15. He wants to bolster his support. What better way

than picking something almost everyone agrees on.

"Stop making us change the friggin' clocks twice a year!!!"

[doc03]

16. I am confused and it appears others are too

as to what is Daylight Savings Time. I like it to the way it is now, it gives us more daylight. I hate the winter when it is dark at 5 pm.

[Kurt V.]

27. pretty sure there's only so much daylight in a day. lol.

[doc03]

53. Can't imagine living in Alaska in the winter. I like the extra. hour

in the evening myself.

[Kurt V.]

59. no way could i live there either. those dark days would drive me batty

[politicaljunkie41910]

67. What about that sunlight at 2:00 in the a.m. I recall hearing about that when Palin was on the

ticket with McCain. They were talking about teens being outside at 2:00a.m. in the sunlight, looking for places to vandalize, I guess.

[dugog55]

17. I say,

split the difference. Move the clocks back 30 minutes this Fall and leave it there permanently.

[Voltaire2]

43. Actually a horrible idea.

[Blues Heron]

18. Local time if we're going back

Each locale would have its own time and your smart phone would do all the conversions. That way noon is noon dammit

[Blue_Tires]

19. Sorry, I'm not going to be on the same side with Donnie on anything

If he's against it then I'm going to be for it

[Bengus81]

21. Sunrise here would be almost 9am in mid Dec..........

Ridiculous............

BTW,Nixon already did this,people hated it.

[Strelnikov_]

28. Seconded

The current system strikes a reasonable balance between the schedule industrialized society maintains within CONUS and earth cycles.

The Amish, OTOH, really don't care one way or the other.

[doc03]

55. You are right about that they just work

about every hour they are awake.

[DeminPennswoods]

57. I remember that

It was done to save energy because of the oil embargo in 1973-74, iirc. I was in college and remember having to get up and walk to 8AM classes in the dark.

[C Moon]

22. As long as they keep it DST; the idea of regular time all year long...

and the summer sun coming up at 4:30am, would suck.

[RobinA]

38. I Agree

I don’t see why people get so bent out of shape about the time change, but if we have to go with one time I want DST. I like the light in the evening.

I live in PA and wasn’t aware they we were considering EST all year, but if we go that route, that noise you hear will be me LMAO when everybody starts complaining about daylight at 4 in the morning. Be careful what you wish for...

[C Moon]

46. +1000

People would be less depressed if they came home to sunlight.
But, I believe (in California), they tried the DST all year round in the early 70's. One problem noted was there were more school bus accidents (I guess due to the lack of sunlight in the morning).

[orleans]

47. the two points i recall when growing up were

setting the clocks back an hour so kids would have light at the bus stop
and
setting them forward was for the farmers

[Bantamfancier]

49. I wish people who say they

changed the clocks for the farmers would just quit saying that.

I grew up on a dairy farm. I’ve farmed more or less all my life.

Clocks mean nothing to us.
We get started when it’s light enough to see.
We eat lunch when we’re hungry.
We stop working when it’s too dark.

And sometimes during planting and harvesting, we turn the lights on and go all night.

[C Moon]

62. Didn't know that. Thanks.

[athena]

65. I take it you've never been depressed.

What’s depressing is having to get up in the dark, which is what switching to DST in the winter will mean. Some people like getting up at dawn, but it’s really hard for most people.

[RicROC]

24. Atlantic Time

I'd like to 'spring forward' Eastern Time one more hour to Atlantic Time so that we have some light at 10:00pm in the Summer. It's so nice to be able to sit outside later, like they do in Europe.

[RicROC]

25. UTC/ 24 hour

...but I think that idea of using UTC time is a great idea. Let businesses and schools set their own time. Also, using 24 hour time for travel makes so much sense especially when flying long distances.

By the way, what's confusing is 12:00pm or 12:00am- it's 12:00M (midnight) and 12:00N (noon)

[Mr.Bill]

26. They probably haven't told Trump

that California voted for it. When he finds that out he will veto it.

[BHDem53]

29. After spanky gets up

at 2 am and sets his clocks he can't get back to sleep.

[Owl]

30. NO. I like it just as it is.

[Midnightwalk]

31. I could live with DST year round

Here in Arizona we stay on standard time year round. Working with people across the countey and in other countries it’s always a pain figuring out when standing meetings are and what time it currently is in other places.

Worst is I’m normally a night owl. I don’t need sunrise at 5am in the summer.

If i was retired I wouldn’t really care. I did some long “walks” when i was young and woke uo and started as soon as it started getting light and took a nap some time around midday typically. I could get back into that mode for a while, but in cities i like walking at night.

[athena]

66. Arizona can do it because it's closer to the equator.

Also, note that they stay on standard time; they don’t go to DST.

Seriously, do people really not understand that the sun setting later in the summer is not because of daylight saving time but because of the tilt in the Earth’s axis with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun?

If you’re a night owl, as I am, just imagine what it will be like to get up and have breakfast in the dark next December if this change is approved. It’s larks who like getting up in the dark, not night owls.

[mwooldri]

32. In more northern areas standard/summer time makes sense.

States closer to the equator should be on one time all year long.

[littlemissmartypants]

33. He's stupid and a bad actor, in every sense of the word.

Who cares what he wants. I certainly don't. F him and the golf cart he road in on. I'm tired of wasting my time (Thanks, Auntie Maxine!) on his bullsh*t.

I am officially done.

[Crazyleftie]

35. His tax returnes should see daylight as well

[Bradical79]

37. Even sociopaths hate it. -nt

[paulkienitz]

39. Fuck daylight savings time. Its only purpose is to get more work out of workers.

[zazfan]

40. That's so damn stupid

We should of course have permanent standard time! What a moron...

[Polybius]

41. Absolutely not

If they ever try that, I will fight it tooth and nail. I deeply look forward to 8:30 sundowns in June and July.

[mr_lebowski]

45. Whichever one we standardized to ... would become 'standard time' ...

DST would become a meaningless term

[zazfan]

48. Absolutely so

Time should be offset from the mean solar time (UT). Anything else is arbitrary and anti-science.

[Polybius]

60. Whatever fancy term it's called is fine

So long as 8:30 sundown in July continues.

It's not "anti-science" either. The measuring of time and what starts when was invented by humans.

[zazfan]

84. Remember to write Trump and thank him for fighting for your cause!

Meanwhile, I will fight tooth and nail against you both to remain permanently on standard time!

[Polybius]

85. Actually, I disagree with the both of you

I wanna keep it like it's been all my life. Spring forward, Fall back.

[jcgoldie]

42. First thing Ive agreed with Trump on in 2 + years

I love that extra hour of daylight in the evening. I consider it the true right of passage into spring.

[athena]

63. How do you like getting up in the dark?

With this change, the sun would rise at 8:21 A.M. on December 31st. And that’s in central NJ. If you’re farther north, it would be even later. How do you like having breakfast in the dark and driving to work in the dark?

Already, daylight saving time starts so early in the spring and ends so late in the winter that people who have to start work early, and runners who run in the morning, are having a lot of trouble.

If this discussion shows anything, it’s the inadequacy of science education in the U.S. People actually think daylight saving time makes the day longer. As a former scientist, I’m appalled.

[jcgoldie]

71. Lol

The usable day is longer. I understand there's not actually more daylight. I get up in the dark throughout the winter regardless as do most people who have to work by 8 AM in the northern half of the country. The extra hour of daylight in the afternoon makes the hours of usable daylight longer. As a farmer who has outside chores before and after my normal workday all year round, this is extra important because I end up doing those chores in the dark in the morning with or without the time change, but I am able to accomplish much more on my farm when we suddenly gain an hour in March.

[athena]

72. Yes, we should all set our clocks according to your schedule.

What you consider “usable” is not necessarily so for others. For me, returning to standard time in the winter allows me to get up earlier and get my run done in the morning. I’m someone who has a lot of trouble getting out of bed when it’s dark outside. But because the interests of amusement parks were more important to George W. Bush than the interests of the people, we now have DST for almost the entire year. I struggle a lot in November and in March, when I can no longer do my runs in the morning. But because the public doesn’t understand what DST really is (as evidenced by the majority of the posts in this thread), people are easily manipulated.

I predict that the very people who are going on about how they like the longer days in the summer are going to be the ones who will be complaining the loudest next December.

[jcgoldie]

75. Its not just my schedule

As a person who is so upset that people do not understand or appreciate "science" I am sure that you realize without me pointing it out that the wider push to expand the hours of DST is based not in amusement parks but rather in objective evidence that people use less energy under DST. People use more lighting and heating in their homes when they have less hours of daylight when they return from work. Here I am talking about day shift working people's schedules, 8 or 9 in the morning until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Most people do not have the luxury of deciding when to get out of bed for their run.

[athena]

78. You mean people will be having breakfast in the dark?

I didn’t realize people only turned on their lights and their heat in the evening. Thank you for this valuable information!

It’s clear that you think you already know everything about everything. What could I possibly know about science that you weren’t born knowing! Have a good day.

[jcgoldie]

79. Yeah you too

I can tell science is your primary concern.

[Blue_playwright]

44. Ugh. I agree with Dolt45. I need a shower. Nt

[samplegirl]

51. It's for the stinken

Corporations so why not?

[Javaman]

61. everything he says is bullshit, let's see if it actually happens.

he taps into peoples anger to get their support, then drags out the issue ad nauseam then changed it to fit either his own agenda or changes it because his original idea was fucking insane. then after a while, he loses interest, claims victory and the original issue vanishes into vapor.

[Politicub]

68. He is so fucking useless and stupid

Ugh.

[gibraltar72]

80. If we don't fall back it would be one less hour of being

governed by a traitor to our country.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

82. Then we know it's a bad idea.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ecstatic]

86. If a lot more states remove it, it will get confusing. Let's change it, but AFTER dump is impeached.

I do NOT want trump to be involved in the discussion in any way, shape, or form. Everything associated with his reign of evil/terror must be reversed when he's gone.