By: Annelyse Zaccaria ‘25
As if there haven’t been enough changes to our lives lately, the biannual ritual of moving our clocks ahead in the spring and behind in the fall has just become something that we may likely be telling our grandchildren about having done ‘back in the day.’ On March 15, the United States Senate unanimously voted to make Daylight Savings Time permanent beginning in 2023, which would mean no more changing of the clocks. This bill will now go forth before the United States
House of Representatives and then the President’s desk in order for the proposed change to become official. What does this mean for all of us, and how will this affect our lives? Switching to permanent Daylight Savings Time as opposed to splitting it between that and Standard Time, would officially increase sunlight by one hour in the afternoon but eliminate morning light. If passed, this change will affect 48 out of the 50 U.S. states (Arizona, Hawaii, and some U.S. territories will not be adopting it). Recalling that Daylight Savings Time was originally created as a good faith attempt to optimally capitalize upon ‘daylight’ during ‘daytime’ activities, we should take a brief look back at its history, focusing upon why it was initially instituted, and the strengths and weaknesses of the yearly switch to which we have grown so accustomed.
In the United States, Daylight Savings Time was first initiated through the Standard Time Act of 1918. Its purpose was to save energy resources for the war effort of WWI by giving extra daylight hours for only seven months to the public. After WWI ended, Daylight Savings Time was again put into place for WWII for the same reasons. Eventually, the power was given to local leaders/authorities to decide to put Daylight Savings Time into place whenever they thought it was necessary. Overtime, this idea of changing the clocks back and forth became so popular and useful that it became a legal act, titled the “Uniform Time Act,” which standardized Daylight Savings Time starting in 1966.