Back in 2015, I urged readers to support House Bill 1947, introduced in the Arkansas Legislature by Rep. David Meeks of Conway. The bill died in the House on April 22, 2015, and I'm still sad about it each spring when the time change comes. If it would have been passed in the House and Senate and signed by the governor, it would have eventually done away with Daylight Saving Time in Arkansas and left us on year-round Central Standard Time.
The language in the bill said the change would not have been implemented until at least one other border state also passed similar legislation so as not to isolate Arkansas from its neighboring states. So, had the bill passed, we might still be changing our clocks on Sunday morning. I wish we had been first and let our neighboring states follow.
According to news reports, Meeks said before filing the bill that he used Facebook to ask if people would support the idea and 99 percent of those responding were in favor of his proposed bill -- there goes Facebook's credibility!
One of the reasons governments enacted Daylight Saving Time was to save energy; but in Indiana, which did not enact Daylight Saving Time until 2008, energy use went up a percentage point with the implementation of the time change because of the use of air conditioning later into the day while people were up and busy in their homes.
Arguments offered in favor of the bill against adulterating of time included studies indicating the time changes negatively affect people's health, causing an increase in heart attacks, fatigue and fatigue-related accidents.
I concur with the arguments that the time changes twice a year have an ill effect on sleep cycles and one's body clock. I like to be up as soon as it starts getting light, but the coming time change will make that a bit later than I like. It makes me feel sorry for the school children and commuters who, up until this coming Sunday, were beginning to enjoy a little light in the morning hours as they headed off to work and school but are now going to be shoved back into the dark again.
Yes, I realize that some appreciate the extra hour of daylight in the evenings for outdoor activities; but wouldn't it be easier to just go to work earlier to get off earlier and have more time in the evening? And what about those who like the early light for morning activities? They get cheated. As soon as it begins getting light earlier in the morning, the time change comes along and snatches it away!
Then, there are those who go to bed early at night. For those who like to start the day early, it can mean going to bed well before dark to get enough sleep to be up in the predawn hours to get an early start at the day's activities. Even though I tend to stay up late, Mrs. Griz is always up early and finds herself going to bed before dark in late spring and early summer so she can be rested when it's time to be up and going in the morning.
I suppose I could argue that I don't like changing all the clocks. Most of them are easy, but it sometimes requires studying the car manuals a while before I can figure out all the buttons which need to be pushed to alter the time in our vehicles. And, by the time it's time to change back again, I've forgotten how to do it and have to go back and read the instructions all over again. Mrs. Griz often just leaves her car clock unchanged and awaits the next time change when her car clock will be right again.
Of course, my body clock is a bit harder to change and it takes a lot longer. In fact, by the time I finally fully adjust to the time change, it seems to be time to turn the clocks back once again.
And anybody who has ever worked on a farm, or in a host of other jobs related to daylight hours, knows it doesn't matter what the clock says as much as what the sun says. When it is about to get light, it's time to get at it. And, if a fellow needs to get at it some distance away, he'd better be up early enough to be there by dawn. And farmers and other hard working folks don't quit just because it's 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. They work until it's too dark to work.
My final argument in favor of leaving our clocks unchanged year round (except after a power failure) is purely scientific. Since the sun still rises and sets at its appointed times each day, why should we change our clocks to make it seem the sun is running an hour late! I say, until the government can make the sun stand still or make its shadow back up on the sundial, let's just leave our clocks on standard time and live with it!
But then, like the 2015 bill which failed for lack of support, I don't expect much will come of my timely opinion even if 99 percent of my friends do click their like buttons on Facebook.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 03/08/2017