Why is daylight saving time still a thing?

  • By Steve Smith Sunnyside Nursery
  • Tuesday, March 15, 2016 4:09pm
  • Life

I don’t know how you feel about this “daylight saving time” stuff, but for me it’s a nightmare that goes on for months. I’m forced to leave my warm little cocoon a whole hour earlier than my body says I should. To add insult to injury, not only will I be physically suffering from artificial jet lag, I will be in a constant state of mental confusion as my mind keeps up an ongoing conversation. “What time is it really? The clock says 10:30 p.m. but my body says 9:30 p.m. and I’m not sleepy.” Or “The clock says 6:30 a.m. and I need to get up, but my body says 5:30 a.m. and that I should keep sleeping.”

According to the government, this time warp thing is done for the purpose of saving energy. Based on consumption figures for 1974 and 1975, the Department of Transportation says observing Daylight Saving Time in March and April saved the energy equivalent of 10,000 barrels of oil each day. What they should have measured was the loss of energy from every citizen’s lack of sleep and overall confusion about what time it is in actual reality.

Daylight saving time isn’t just an American phenomenon. It has been going on in Europe for decades and they have added a little twist. In Europe, daylight saving time is known as “Summertime”. From early March to the end of October, the European governments try to “brainwash” the citizenry into believing that it is perpetual summertime. Can you imagine what would happen to me if I went skipping down the street in early March announcing to everyone that it was now officially “summertime”? The guys in the white coats would have me gone in no time flat.

I suppose I should be grateful that I am required to get up earlier. After all, that is supposed to be the most peaceful time of the day. It is when we should be out wandering in our gardens, communing with nature and getting ourselves centered. But you know what? While I like the thought of being up in the early morning hours, I don’t like the actual act of getting up. As far as I am concerned, the early bird can have the worm. I’ll wait for the coffee and toast.

There is a common myth that people who work in the agricultural field like to get up early. It’s simply not true and I can prove it. In 1973, following the Arab Oil Embargo, Congress put most of the country on extended daylight saving time for the purpose of saving more oil. While the experiment worked, it was ultimately terminated in 1975 due to a large human outcry, coming from guess who — the farming states. That’s right, farmers don’t like to get up at the crack of dawn and neither does this gardener.

No, it’s time to take action. It is time to call in the our leaders, change-makers and to rally the masses. A Biological Clock Manipulation Referendum is needed to repeal daylight saving time once and for all. No more trying to remember if it is “spring forward and fall back” or “fall forward and spring back.” No more embarrassing moments caused by not knowing the true newly changed time. It’s time to just say no to daylight saving time.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville. You can reach him at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

Upcoming classes

Sunnyside Nursery will host two classes this weekend, “Growing Cool Season Veggies” at 10 a.m. March 19 and “Edible Landscapes” at 11 a.m. March 20 at Sunnyside Nursery. For more information, visit www.sunnysidenursery.net.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.