[HN Gopher] Map: The states in favor of daylight saving time all...
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       Map: The states in favor of daylight saving time all year long
        
       Author : jerryjerryjerry
       Score  : 37 points
       Date   : 2023-11-04 19:24 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nbcnews.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nbcnews.com)
        
       | 7e wrote:
       | This is backwards. In the age of pervasive digital assistants,
       | there is no reason not to have two dimensional time zones
       | (perhaps state level) where seven a.m. is sunrise every single
       | day. That's how humans evolved. To rise with the sun. Waking up
       | with the sun in a different spot in the sky every day is
       | disruptive to sleep cycles. This can be accomplished by skewing
       | the time every day at 3 am for a few dozen seconds. Zoom can take
       | care of aligning video conferences to UTC slots.
        
         | TheCycoONE wrote:
         | Ah, that's a more extreme version of the 10 minutes a month
         | approach that I have been advocating for.
        
         | Waterluvian wrote:
         | "A few dozen seconds" is more like 120 or even 180 per day at
         | more distant latitudes. And then there's the whole "the sun
         | doesn't rise for a long time" at extreme latitudes. So that
         | would be pretty comical when 7:00 just doesn't happen. Do we
         | stop the clocks?
        
       | readthenotes1 wrote:
       | DST is torture for night owls.
        
         | elwell wrote:
         | How so?
        
           | readthenotes1 wrote:
           | Most of the daytime activities are regulated by the "business
           | day", starting at 9am. One day that's 9am, the next day and
           | most the summer that's now an hour earlier
        
       | standardUser wrote:
       | I'm glad to see DST is winning. I know it depends a lot on where
       | you live, but living in NYC it feels absolutely crushing to
       | suddenly lose afternoons to the darkness just as the winter
       | weather is emerging. It's like a sick joke.
       | 
       | As for circadian rhythms, I'm sure there are many benefits to
       | aligning our entire livelihoods to the annual fluctuations of the
       | sun's rise and fall, but in practice everyone I know molds their
       | schedule around their jobs, families and interests, not the
       | sunrise.
        
         | throw0101b wrote:
         | > [...] _to suddenly lose afternoons to the darkness just as
         | the winter weather is emerging._
         | 
         | The 'sudden'-ness may be because of the time jump. If clocks
         | were left alone there would be a more natural,
         | continuous/gradual shift between light and dark.
        
         | bilsbie wrote:
         | It's depressing in Florida too. Just when the nice weather
         | starts we lose our evenings.
        
       | throw0101b wrote:
       | So the study of how light and biology interact is called
       | chronobiology:
       | 
       | * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronobiology
       | 
       | AFAICT, all national (US, CA) and international (EU)
       | chronobiology societies, as well as many sleep researchers, state
       | that from _a health perspective_ , we should (a) get rid of the
       | twice-yearly DST switching, and (b) stay on Standard ("winter")
       | Time year-round.
       | 
       | > _As experts in biological clocks and sleep, we have been
       | following the initiatives of the European Commission and
       | California Proposition 7 to abandon the annual clock-time changes
       | in spring and autumn. Although we recognize that there are
       | advantages /disadvantages associated with any choice, we
       | emphasize that the scientific evidence presently available
       | indicates that installing perennial Standard Time (ST, or
       | 'wintertime') is the best and safest option for public health.
       | The negative effects of maintaining Daylight Saving Time (DST)
       | will be higher._
       | 
       | * https://srbr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/SRBR-Statement-o...
       | 
       | > _The Canadian Society for Chronobiology is advocating for the
       | elimination of twice-yearly time changes. These changes,
       | particularly in the spring, are not only inconvenient and
       | socially disruptive, but also are responsible for short-term
       | negative impacts such as increases in acute health events and
       | accidents. In place of the time changes, we advocate for year-
       | round Standard Time (ST, winter time) rather than Daylight Saving
       | Time (DST, summer time). ST puts the social clock closer to our
       | intrinsic body clock, our circadian rhythm, which is set by the
       | dawn. DST moves dawn later, and creates social jet-lag due to the
       | mismatch between our biological drive to wake up near dawn and
       | the social demands for us to stay up later. Year-round DST is
       | predicted to increase rates of chronic diseases, decrease
       | economic performance, and increase inequities in society.
       | Putative advantages of year-round DST, such as energy savings and
       | benefits for farmers, are not supported by evidence. Previous
       | experiments with year-round DST have proven to be unpopular.
       | Therefore, year-round ST should be adopted as a public health
       | measure._
       | 
       | * http://www.chronobiocanada.com/official-statements
       | 
       | > _Daylight saving time (DST) refers to the practice of advancing
       | clock time by 1 h each spring, with a return (setting back) to
       | standard time (ST) each fall. Numerous sleep and circadian
       | societies other than the Sleep Research Society have published
       | statements in support of permanent ST, and permanent ST has also
       | received support from multiple medical societies and
       | organizations. This perspective dis- cusses the positive and
       | negative health and economic consequences of permanent DST,
       | permanent ST, and maintaining the status quo (DST for part of the
       | year). After a thorough review of the existing literature, the
       | SRS advocates the adoption of permanent ST._
       | 
       | * https://sleepresearchsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/...
       | 
       | > [...] _Although chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving
       | time year-round have not been well studied, daylight saving time
       | is less aligned with human circadian biology--which, due to the
       | impacts of the delayed natural light /dark cycle on human
       | activity, could result in circadian misalignment, which has been
       | associated in some studies with increased cardiovascular disease
       | risk, metabolic syndrome and other health risks. It is,
       | therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
       | that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of
       | a fixed, national, year-round standard time._
       | 
       | * https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.8780
       | 
       | And this does take into account different chronotypes (e.g.,
       | "night owls"):
       | 
       | * https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.0094...
       | 
       | Of course a lot of the general public seems to lean towards year-
       | round DST (e.g., "so I can do stuff after work"):
       | 
       | > _The chronobiology community advocates ending the biannual
       | practice in many countries of adjusting their clocks to observe
       | Daylight Saving Time (DST). Many governments are actively
       | considering abandoning this practice. While sleep and circadian
       | experts advocate the adoption of year-round standard time, most
       | jurisdictions are instead considering permanent DST. In guiding
       | advocacy, it is useful to understand the factors that lead
       | governments and citizens to prefer the various options._ [...]
       | 
       | * https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35382618/
        
         | throw0101b wrote:
         | If you personally lean toward year-round ST, you may be
         | interested in:
         | 
         | * https://savestandardtime.com
        
         | standardUser wrote:
         | Isn't the real issue the general start times of jobs, classes
         | and other activities? We could all wake up at Noon and go to
         | sleep at 8am if that's what it took to match the biologically
         | ideal scenario. All that matters is the difference between the
         | biologically ideal wake time and a socially required wake time.
         | Not what the clock says.
        
       | tzs wrote:
       | The problem with permanent DST in northern states is that it
       | means for much of winter the morning commute is in darkness. Yes,
       | it means more light during the evening commute, but the morning
       | commute needs light more than does the evening commute.
       | 
       | That's because generally road conditions are more likely to be
       | worse in the morning than in the evening. It's generally colder
       | in the mornings meaning more chances of ice on the roads. There's
       | also more likely to be snow on the roads--by the evening you've
       | had a day's traffic helping clear the roads.
       | 
       | Also in the morning you've got significant overlap between the
       | morning adult commute and children walking or biking to school,
       | so by making the morning commute happen in darkness you are
       | combining the time when road conditions are worst, the time when
       | you've got the most pedestrians and cyclists, and the time you've
       | got the worst lighting.
       | 
       | Schools generally get out well before the adult evening commute
       | starts, so if that has to take place in the dark at least you
       | don't have nearly as many pedestrians and cyclists to deal with.
        
         | amanaplanacanal wrote:
         | Seems like changing school start time would be a simple fix for
         | that.
        
           | tzs wrote:
           | That might fix the problem of kids walking and biking in the
           | dark, but it still leaves the issue of the morning being the
           | time when driving is the most difficult.
           | 
           | Also I'm not sure you can push school start time back far
           | enough to matter. School hours are generally shorter than
           | adult work hours (especially for elementary school), so in a
           | family where both parents work away from home you are going
           | to have some time where the kids are out of school but the
           | parents aren't home. I suspect that "kids get home a couple
           | hours before the parents do" works out better than "kids
           | leave home an hour after the parents".
        
           | _ph_ wrote:
           | And you have basically undone the effect of permanent DST.
        
         | MightyBuzzard wrote:
         | No, the problem is that DST is the incorrect time. If you want
         | to stop changing the clocks, you set them all to the correct
         | time and leave them alone. You do not declare "We shall be
         | wrong from now on!"
        
         | BobaFloutist wrote:
         | DST should just be amortized along the duration.
         | 
         | While people complain about whether or not they'd prefer to
         | have light in the morning or evening, the real problem is
         | trying to adjust your sleep schedule by an hour in one fell
         | swoop. That made sense when you had to remember manually adjust
         | any time-keeping devices, but digital clocks can mostly adjust
         | themselves these days, so it would be fairly trivial to just
         | have it move with the light, which would make the sleep
         | adjustment much less painful.
        
       | jcranmer wrote:
       | The US actually did experiment with year-round DST during the oil
       | embargo in the 70s. Popular support for year-round DST cratered
       | when people actually experienced what DST is like in winter. I
       | fully expect the same thing to open nowadays if permanent DST
       | ever becomes a thing... DST in winter just isn't fun.
        
         | acwan93 wrote:
         | It's also entirely possible if permanent DST passes and gets
         | repealed (again) we'll be back to where we are now 60 years
         | later.
        
           | natebc wrote:
           | This is exactly how this will play out. Permanent standard
           | time would have a much greater chance of sticking, also ...
           | it's standard!
        
         | crazygringo wrote:
         | > _DST in winter just isn 't fun_
         | 
         | Says the people who get up earlier in the morning and don't
         | like a dark start to their day.
         | 
         | On the other hand, plenty of people don't want it getting dark
         | by 4 pm in the winter, and vastly prefer their extra hour of
         | sunlight in the late afernoon. That extra hour _is_ fun for
         | them (including me).
         | 
         | From my viewpoint, 4 pm darkness is just depressing and crushes
         | the soul, in a way that morning darkness doesn't (you get to
         | watch the sunrise!).
        
           | internet2000 wrote:
           | This is 100% an opinion. The worst part of this debate is
           | that the only indicator of which side you'll support is
           | whether you're a morning person or not.
           | 
           | As a morning person myself, give me standard time year round
           | or give me death.
        
             | cpeterso wrote:
             | Let's compromise at 30 minutes between standard time and
             | DST. Everyone would be happy to drop the time changes and
             | neither side is happy with the new time, but at least it's
             | a less severe outcome for people during their off season.
        
           | loloquwowndueo wrote:
           | If you're stuck in an office until 6 it doesn't matter if
           | dusk is at 4 or 5 pm anyway.
        
         | aimor wrote:
         | That's interesting, I didn't know about this.
         | 
         | Maybe it's time to implement Winter Hours, a 35 hour work week
         | from December through February.
        
       | jwie wrote:
       | Perhaps we should modify our schedules rather than altering the
       | time the clock shows. The time doesn't really change.
       | 
       | We should abolish savings time and stick to standard time year
       | round.
       | 
       | The real arguments for savings time are for economic (ie
       | consumption) reasons. More daylight later means more spending
       | after work.
       | 
       | If you look at who supports and lobbies for savings time it
       | should be clear who the enemy is.
        
         | zzo38computer wrote:
         | > Perhaps we should modify our schedules rather than altering
         | the time the clock shows. The time doesn't really change. We
         | should abolish savings time and stick to standard time year
         | round.
         | 
         | I agree with you. I think that permanent standard time would be
         | better (although permanent daylight saving time would still be
         | better than changing the clock twice every year, I think
         | permanent standard time would be better than permanent daylight
         | saving time), and that you do not need to do your
         | schedules/stuffs only according to clocks.
         | 
         | Actually, I think that the way that it should be done is by
         | time zones based on mean solar time.
         | 
         | > The real arguments for savings time are for economic (ie
         | consumption) reasons. More daylight later means more spending
         | after work. If you look at who supports and lobbies for savings
         | time it should be clear who the enemy is.
         | 
         | I am not well aware of who supports and lobbies for savings
         | time, although you may be right.
        
       | wolverine876 wrote:
       | Just eliminate DST. Are we in such post-truth era that we'll even
       | lie to ourselves about the time? Tell ourselves it's an hour
       | later when we know it's not, as if we embrace lies and lying so
       | readily? Why add a layer of complexity; just make the time
       | reflect the position of the Sun, and adjust your schedule as
       | desired.
       | 
       | I know we've used DST for a long time, but at least it was a
       | special (albiet annual) thing, not a permanent state.
        
         | crazygringo wrote:
         | > _and adjust your schedule as desired_
         | 
         | Because individuals can't. Society's schedule is ultimately set
         | by schools, and employers mostly have hours that accomodate
         | parents' kids' needs.
         | 
         | The reality is that it's easier to change the clock than shift
         | school's schedules and get everyone else to shift their
         | schedules too.
         | 
         | What the heck does "lying" have to do with anything? Solar noon
         | is exactly 12:00 locally at only some vanishingly small slivers
         | of the earth's surface. Clock time is a human convention, and
         | we're free to fiddle with it however we like.
        
       | bluGill wrote:
       | It is a way to pretend to do something without doing it and thus
       | point fingers. If politicians really wanted to do something
       | standard time year round is legal and could be done anytime. But
       | daylight savings time year round isn't legal so they pass that so
       | they don't have to stand for anything.
        
       | wolverine876 wrote:
       | My idea:
       | 
       | First, eliminate DST completely. The time should reflect the
       | position of the Sun, and forget the complexity and IMHO bizarre
       | self-delusion, a bad habit.
       | 
       | Second, use a time half-way between Mountain and Central Time
       | (i.e., on the half-hour), and create a North American Time. Give
       | the entire US a single time zone. Imagine all the headaches
       | simplified away for coordinating; communicating; scheduling;
       | conceptualizing all time across current time zones, like the
       | duration of your plane flight, etc. etc. -- all that conversion
       | and complexity will vanish. 'I'll call at 4' means something
       | crystal clear; if you're in Denver, 'be at the SF office for the
       | 5pm meeting' is transparently comprehendable - you know how long
       | your day will be, how long you have to get there.
       | 
       | Yes, people in NY will have sunny early mornings - they like to
       | get up early and can enjoy the more city lights. People in LA
       | will have beautiful late sunsets - they can have a late dinner
       | and watch it set even in December. (Yes, I'm snidely dismissing
       | their concerns; I'm having some fun with it.) It's only half an
       | hour worse than prior distortions.
       | 
       | Best if Canada and Mexico will join in - notice I called it
       | _North American Time_. The line of current the Central-Mountain
       | time zone border goes right through the center of Mexico; it
       | might work very well there (but someone from Mexico will know
       | more). The challenge is outlying lands, such as New Foundland,
       | Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. They may prefer special time
       | zones because of the larger distortions. Nothing is perfect.
       | 
       | China, which is very roughly the same distance east-west as the
       | US, has one time zone. Where is it accurate - central China or
       | Beijing? And how has it worked out?
       | 
       | (Or use Mountain or Central Time, if the half-hour will cause too
       | many problems.)
        
         | loloquwowndueo wrote:
         | Not going to work, same reason
         | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time didn't
         | catch on.
        
           | jonhohle wrote:
           | Wasn't Swatch Internet Time just a marketing gimmick? Did
           | anyone seriously think it would be adopted by any standards
           | body or government?
        
             | loloquwowndueo wrote:
             | DST is also a marketing gimmick and look at global
             | adoption, even in tropical countries where it's entirely
             | useless.
        
         | jonhohle wrote:
         | Or just use GMT and adjust scheduling local things based on
         | local daylight. Phrases like working 9-5 wouldn't make sense
         | for most anymore, but who cares. Having the date change in the
         | middle of the day might be odd, but people working night shifts
         | deal with that already.
        
           | wolverine876 wrote:
           | I think we need to match solar time approximately. The words
           | 'today' and 'tomorrow' and 'noon', for example, have both
           | clock and solar meanings that need to be roughly aligned.
        
         | bhandziuk wrote:
         | A single time zone seems like it creates a lot of problems.
         | Like if I'm on the east coast scheduling a meeting with someone
         | on the west coast what's the fastest way to convey to me I'm
         | about to schedule a meeting that's way to early. Right now I
         | can see that the meeting will be at 5am for them and I can
         | intuit that's to early.
         | 
         | How do people in Western China feel about this situation, which
         | they live right now?
        
         | zzo38computer wrote:
         | > First, eliminate DST completely. The time should reflect the
         | position of the Sun, and forget the complexity and IMHO bizarre
         | self-delusion, a bad habit.
         | 
         | I agree. However, while sundials will use apparent solar time
         | (and should not be disregarded), the time zones and clocks
         | should be based on mean solar time, in my opinion.
         | 
         | > Second, use a time half-way between Mountain and Central Time
         | (i.e., on the half-hour), and create a North American Time.
         | Give the entire US a single time zone.
         | 
         | I disagree. If you need to coordinate time between different
         | places, you can use UTC instead of mean solar time. That is
         | what UTC is for, and UTC can be useful for other purposes too.
         | When specifying the time you can write "Z" on the end to
         | indicate UTC.
        
       | kj4ips wrote:
       | I live in East Tennessee, where a permanent DST situation would
       | be the worst case for us, but are seat of government is in
       | Central Time.
        
       | madphilosopher wrote:
       | When I worked an office IT job, for a few years, I asked my boss
       | if I could come in an hour early in the winter. In actual
       | practice, I kept my watch on DST and woke up and commuted to work
       | at the same time relative to the Sun. I watched my co-workers
       | struggle for a week adjusting their bodies to their time change.
       | I had no time change to deal with. I got to study (skills
       | upgrade) in the quiet before anyone else came to work, and I got
       | to leave an hour early every day compared to the others. I drove
       | home in the daylight. Truly, there were no downsides for me.
       | 
       | Permanent daylight savings time---I recommend practicing it even
       | when the society around you does not.
        
       | bigDinosaur wrote:
       | Am I missing something or are discussions around DST frequently
       | entirely missing the point? It exists because our work schedules
       | are completely inflexible, so no matter whether you do permanent
       | or not you're fundamentally running into issues that work start
       | and end times are fixed, so it'll always be trading off against
       | something. The real solution is instead to do something about our
       | fixed schedules to make them more flexible.
       | 
       | Am I wrong (genuinely I may just be missing something here)?
        
         | canjobear wrote:
         | Option 1: Change the time on the clocks.
         | 
         | Option 2: Fundamentally change the structure of employment
         | throughout the entire economy.
         | 
         | One of these is easier.
        
         | seti0Cha wrote:
         | Our work schedules are largely inflexible because of the need
         | to coordinate with others. A teacher cannot shift their hours
         | unless the students do so as well. The students cannot shift
         | their hours if their parents can't provide care under the new
         | schedule. The parents can't shift their hours if they have
         | scheduled responsibilities such opening stores, making
         | deliveries, etc. In short, a great many jobs require that
         | others maintain fixed schedules in order to operate
         | efficiently, so flexible hours is not a general solution.
        
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       (page generated 2023-11-04 23:01 UTC)