Massachusetts has looked into a similar measure, too. The bill is still waiting on approval from Congress before it can go into effect. Florida Sen. Other states that have approved legislation to enact year-long daylight saving time include Washington , Tennessee , Oregon , Nevada , and Alabama.
Some Maryland legislators are interested, too. But none of the changes can go into effect without approval from the federal government. So for now, all these states will be changing their clocks on Sunday along with the rest of us. It appears other countries are also interested in getting rid of DST, or keeping it in place forever: Some members of the European Parliament — the governing body of the European Union — want to abolish clock changes there too.
How might our patterns change? Blogger and cartographer Andy Woodruff decided to visualize this with a great series of maps. Reasonable, as defined by Woodruff, is the sun rising at 7 am or earlier or setting after 5 pm so one could, conceivably, spend some time in the sun before or after work.
This is what the map looks like under the status quo of twice-yearly clock shifts. A lot of people have unreasonable sunrise times the dark spots for much of the year:. The sunrise situation would actually be worse for most people.
More on that below. But we would experience it in times more accommodating for our modern world. In , Stromberg made the compelling case that the daylight saving time shift into the evening should be extended year-round.
Having more light later could benefit us in a surprising number of ways:. A bit. When we shift clocks forward one hour in the spring, many of us will lose that hour of sleep. In the days after daylight saving time starts, our biological clocks are a little bit off. One hour of lost sleep sounds like a small change, but we humans are fragile, sensitive animals. Small disruptions in our sleep have been shown to alter basic indicators of our health and dull our mental edge. And when our biological clocks are off, everything about us is out of sync.
Our bodies run this tight schedule to try to keep up with our actions. Sign up. Not convinced? Find out more ». Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter Share this article via messenger Share this with Share this article via email Share this article via flipboard Copy link.
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Regions farthest away from the equator and closer to the poles get the most benefit from the DST clock change, because there is a more dramatic change in sunlight throughout the seasons. Research has also suggested that with more daylight in the evenings, there are fewer traffic accidents, as there are fewer cars on the road when it's dark outside.
More daylight also could mean more outdoor exercise or exercise at all for full-time workers. The nominal reason for daylight saving time has long been to save energy. The time change was first instituted in the U. During the Arab oil embargo, when Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC stopped selling petroleum to the United States, Congress even enacted a trial period of year-round daylight saving time in an attempt to save energy.
But the evidence for energy savings is slim. Brighter evenings may save on electric lighting, said Stanton Hadley, a senior researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory who helped prepare a report to Congress on extended daylight saving time in But lights have become increasingly efficient, Hadley said, so lighting is responsible for a smaller chunk of total energy consumption than it was a few decades ago.
Heating and cooling probably matter more, and some places may need air-conditioning for the longer, hotter evenings of summer daylight saving time. Hadley and his colleagues found that the four weeks of extra daylight saving time that went into effect in the United States in did save some energy, about half of a percent of what would have otherwise been used on each of those days. However, Hadley said, the effect of the entire months-long stretch of daylight saving could very well have the opposite effect.
A study in Indiana before and after implementation of daylight saving time in some counties found a small increase in residential energy usage. Temporary changes in Australia's daylight saving timing for the summer Olympics of also failed to save any energy, a study found.
Part of the trouble with estimating the effect of daylight saving time on energy consumption is that there are so few changes to the policy, making before-and-after comparisons tricky, Hadley told Live Science.
The extension of daylight saving time allowed for a before-and-after comparison of only a few weeks' time. The changes in Indiana and Australia were geographically limited. Ultimately, Hadley said, the energy question probably isn't the real reason the United States sticks with daylight saving time, anyway. Hawaii and Arizona are the two U. And, every year there are bills put forth to get rid of DST in various states, as not everyone is keen on turning their clocks forward an hour.
Congress to exempt the state from the federal Uniform Time Act. If approved, Florida would remain in DST year-round. Congress would have to amend the Uniform Time Act 15 U. Congress has yet to approve the legislation, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. Fifteen other states have made similar moves with laws, voter initiatives and resolutions.
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