by Daveda Gruber:
Many of us lost an hour of sleep this past weekend and that includes President Trump. Apparently, our president is tired of switching clocks as much as we are.
Daylight Saving Time began on Sunday morning and every year since I can remember we all lose an hour of sleep in exchange for the longer daylight hours of spring.
Not every state in the U.S. observes Daylight Saving Time. Arizona and Hawaii take a pass while the rest of us made that spring forward this past weekend.
Trump took to Twitter to give us a message about Daylight Saving Time. He tweeted:
Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2019
I did tweet to our president explaining my thoughts.
It really does affect our health when we lose an hour of sleep. https://t.co/S5GhuTTc27
— Daveda Gruber (@DavedaGruber) March 11, 2019
The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time, which is called “Summer Time” in many places in the world, is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I. It was originally proposed as an Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States. It was enacted on March 19, 1918. It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918.
Changing the clocks is “a way of conserving fuel needed for war industries and of extending the working day,” according to the Library of Congress. Still it was it was only designed to be temporary. The law was repealed as soon as the war was over.
The issue of daylight saving emerged again during World War II. On Jan. 20, 1942, Congress re-established daylight saving time.
Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time. In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m.
Over twenty years later, in 1966, former President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Uniform Time Act that declared daylight saving time a policy of the U.S. It established uniform start and end times within standard time zones. The policy is regulated by the Department of Transportation.
Not all states participate in the rush to change the clocks. Hawaii, most of Arizona and several U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, do not observe daylight saving time.
Trump would need to work with Congress in order to repeal the 1966 Johnson-era law. Last week, Republican Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott filed a bill to extend daylight saving time for the entire year. It is called the Sunshine Protection Act. The Florida legislature voted to adopt the measure last year, but in order for it to take effect, Congress must change the federal law, and Trump must sign it.
Trump’s tweet on Monday morning seemed to signal that should such a proposal make it to his desk, he would sign it.
Losing an hour in the spring is more difficult to adjust to than gaining an hour in the fall. It is similar to airplane travel; traveling east we lose time.
The topic of saving time has caused a nationwide debate since its inception. Many argue that the policy is unnecessary and disturbs sleep patterns. I know it disturbs me. My dog is also affected. Her sleep is important, right?
Supporters say it saves energy because people tend to spend more time outside when it’s lighter out. The DOT claims it also “saves lives and prevents traffic injuries,” because visibility is better when the daylight hour is extended.
And don’t blame cows or farmers for losing sleep. Cows have been given a bad reputation lately for their flatulence which is often blamed as a significant source of greenhouse gases, owing to the erroneous belief that the methane released by livestock is in the flatus. In cows, gas and burps are produced by methane-generating microbes called methanogens, that live inside the cow’s digestive system.
House Rep. Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez D-N.Y. doesn’t take kindly to cows in her Resolution the “Green New Deal.”
Check out this video:
