__________
The heads of government efficiency want to try a plan that has already been tested and rejected.
It's not pointless. Maybe "tested" but not "rejected" - the real issue about the "permanent" time is not whether to do it, but how - settle on "standard time" or set it to DST.
There are pros and cons for each, from ag industry to ed and med industries, so the decision will affect enough people to complain... for a while, until most adjust and will think nothing of it, but previous failure and quick reversal led to half-measures like extending DST for more "sunlight":
US Congress tried to settle on "permanent" DST in December of 1973, for an experimental period of 2 years - to see if it would really save energy - but reinstated biannual time change just 8 months later, because people hated dark mornings. Vox populi vox Dei! So instead, DST was expanded to 7 months in 1986, and to 8 months in 2007, from March to November - the usual rationale being to "stretch the daylight" as far as possible without having the negatives of late sunrises in the winter.
www.npr.org - Changing our clocks is a health hazard. Just ask a sleep doctor - NPR, March 2023
|------- Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has introduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023, says the ritual of changing our clocks twice a year "makes no sense," and is "stupid." He's joined by a bipartisan group of senators including Ron Wyden (D-Ore) and Edward Markey (D-Mass).
The Senate unanimously passed a similar measure in 2022, but it did not get enough support in the House of Representatives. ... The key argument is, more light in the evening can prompt people to go out and spend more money at shops and restaurants.
... Many doctors and scientists agree it's time to stop the twice a year time change, but they oppose legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent. Instead, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Medical Association both favor permanent standard time, which preserves morning light.
-------|
This may have better chance now that Musk-Rama-Don mafia can take credit for "doing something" quickly and "efficiently" - it's a low-hanging fruit for Elon-Vivek / "government efficiency commission" to try and take credit for ephemeral "$$ savings" by flipping a coin and getting an early "win" by recommending one or the other.
Hey, look what we've done! Veni, vidi, vici!
www.theweathernetwork.com - Five ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving - pro-DST arguments
www.theweathernetwork.com - Why sleep experts say it's time to ditch DST - pro-standard time arguments
__________
