POLL: Why the hell is the US still changing clocks twice/year?

[lxskllr]

9 to 5 job = no choice

If your business valued the time change enough, they'd switch to 8-4, or 10-6. It's not like seasonal hours are some unheard of mystery or anything.

 

[RedString]

I don't know, yes it's a hassle, I made a list today... finally. I have 12 things to change. I've still got a few to go. Used to not be such a big deal but nowadays there are so many devices that have to be set to the right time. It's not for my convenience, I think it's probably more for commercial purposes for which it probably makes sense. If it enhances productivity it's worth it, being the thinking.

Thankfully I use devices that automatically set the time. Aside from a wristwatch, what doesn't?
Though I don't think China and India doing it would factor in at all for me. I do like the idea of leaving it alone. Summer time ofc.

 

[vailr]

They ought to simply re-designate the sun's mid-point in the sky (averaged out for each of the 4 "U.S. Lower 48" time zones) as being "12:00 Noon". Change other schedules, such as the time the school bus picks up, the airline schedules, the time you want to eat your daily meals, milk your dairy cows, etc. to whatever seems best. But quit changing what time "12:00 Noon" is.
That way, there'd be no location in the "U.S. Lower 48" where "12:00 Noon" would be more than 30 minutes off. With the exception of keeping the same time zone statewide, for any particular state. But keep certain wider states as dual time zones (such as Kansas and Nebraska) that straddle the dividing point between Central and Mountain time zones.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

useless

 

[epidemis]

I kind of like it. Gives me more sunlight in the evening after work when I actually have the time to enjoy it. In the morning I just eat breakfast and rush to the bus, so sunlight or not doesn't matter.

That's exactly what daylight saving time does. Gives you more sunlight in the evening/less in the morning. I feel we should move permanently to DST.

 

[natto fire]

Probably for the same reason this type of thread happens every time the clocks change, tradition?

 

[Imp]

Seriously, keep it at DST or summer time. I don't give two shits about it being dark when I'm out in the morning. Hell, the sun doesn't really come out until 8am deep in the winter.

 

[FoBoT]

it isn't really a big deal
but i see no reason for the gubberment to have laws regarding time keeping

 

[lothar]

It is really stupid. Up until 2005, Indiana wasn't observing DST and it was great. It changed because the governor and others convinced people it would save Indiana money in electricity costs.

A study a couple years ago found that it actually cost us more money. Thanks guys!

I thought it was changed because some parts of Indiana observed it while the capital and majority of the state did not. Therefore they changed it so that all of Indiana would be on the same exact schedule.

-Lothar

 

[Dedpuhl]

It's stupid to continue the practice and should be stopped...

 

[Slick5150]

I love people whining about the "hassle" involved. Unless you own an antique clock store, the absolute most amount of time you had to put into anything was about 3 minutes this morning.

 

[bruceb]

Personally, I agree, changing the clocks twice a year is a waste. I would prefer the extra daylight at the end of the day. Then I can golf later in the afternoon (twilight rates start at 2PM & are much less than day rates) .. But families with kids, do not want them traveling to school in the AM when it is dark. So they need it the other way around. You can't please everybody.

 

[Rubycon]

Get rid of timezones altogether. There is only one time, GMT. Use it. The scientific community has been doing this forever.

Using timezones and this atrocity known as DST is like using Imperial units and Metric together. People do that too. D:

 

[vailr]

I thought it was changed because some parts of Indiana observed it while the capital and majority of the state did not. Therefore they changed it so that all of Indiana would be on the same exact schedule.

-Lothar

Not quite. Several counties of Indiana near Chicago still keep same as Chicago (Central Daylight Time) time, year round, as they always have. So: whereas previously those counties were the same as Indianapolis (then: Eastern Standard Time) for only 1/2 the year, they're now 1 hour behind Indianapolis (now: Eastern Daylight Time) and the rest of the counties for the entire year.

Also: a large portion of NE Arizona under control of the Navajo Nation keeps Mountain Daylight Time, same as Colorado. But smaller land parcels there under Hopi Nation control keeps Mountain Standard Time, same time as southern Arizona.

 

[IronWing]

Do away with clocks entirely. All they really tell you is that you failing to satisfy someone else's agenda. Non-sentient agents of control. Punch them in the face.

 

[zerocool84]

Seriously, keep it at DST or summer time. I don't give two shits about it being dark when I'm out in the morning. Hell, the sun doesn't really come out until 8am deep in the winter.

What's winter?

 

[ioni]

9 to 5 job = no choice

Get a better job, nitwit.

 

[arcenite]

I love people whining about the "hassle" involved. Unless you own an antique clock store, the absolute most amount of time you had to put into anything was about 3 minutes this morning.

:biggrin:

 

[Lonyo]

I love people whining about the "hassle" involved. Unless you own an antique clock store, the absolute most amount of time you had to put into anything was about 3 minutes this morning.

But that means they lost an hour AND three minutes, rather than just an hour. That's 5% more time lost.

 

[Murloc]

I think it's a stupid tradition.
It has been demonstrated that you don't spare electricity.
Also lots of people are awake between 6 am and 12 pm. Having more sunlight at the start or at the end doesn't change jackshit.

It should be abolished in the whole world.

 

[cubby1223]

agree, or move it 30 min and just leave it

everyone wins

Except your idea doesn't do actually anything. There is ZERO difference between keeping the same time, and moving it a half hour permanently.

 

[cubby1223]

I love people whining about the "hassle" involved. Unless you own an antique clock store, the absolute most amount of time you had to put into anything was about 3 minutes this morning.

They're addicts, they need constant outrage in their lives.

If they had something important to do with their lives, they'd be doing that instead of complaining on internet forums

 

[Red Squirrel]

I never understood the whole "saves energy" thing. No it does not. All it's doing is shifting when we use electricity, and really this is only specific to lighting, which is a small percentage of electricity usage especially with CFL and LED lighting being bigger now. Commercial buildings being bigger users than residential tend to have lights on all day so it's not like it matters if it's dark or not.

Sure it sucks when it's dark early but DST does not even fix that, it just slightly offsets it. It's still pitch black in the morning when I go to work and it's still pitch black when I get out of work, unless we start changing the clocks by several hours, it's not going to change that fact and I sure as hell would not want to do that.

 

[Mixolydian]

DST should be all-year round. It's better having light later in the evening.

 

[Jeff7]

I never understood the whole "saves energy" thing. No it does not. All it's doing is shifting when we use electricity, and really this is only specific to lighting, which is a small percentage of electricity usage especially with CFL and LED lighting being bigger now. Commercial buildings being bigger users than residential tend to have lights on all day so it's not like it matters if it's dark or not.

Sure it sucks when it's dark early but DST does not even fix that, it just slightly offsets it. It's still pitch black in the morning when I go to work and it's still pitch black when I get out of work, unless we start changing the clocks by several hours, it's not going to change that fact and I sure as hell would not want to do that.

What I've seen is that the savings are found in usage habits. For example, if people are more likely to be outside as a result of the relative shift in daylight hours, they'll not be inside using electricity on lighting or indoor recreation.
And some commercial buildings, though not many, do have auto-dimming lights working in tandem with skylights.

What I've seen though is that the savings are <1%, though when spread across something like a national power grid, that's still a lot of megawatts.