The Washington Post reports that the House GOP is resurrecting the Sunshine Protection Act. The law would allow states to switch to permanent daylight saving time.
I wish it wouldn’t.
First, I hate the insane pretense of the name of the bill itself. As if 435 legislators could, by fiat, do anything about the duration of sunshine, or that they somehow exercise guardianship over Mother Nature.
Second, I hate the substance of the bill, which is meant to pressure the whole country into permanent daylight saving, under which solar noon would happen in most of the country around 1:00 p.m. and in some places closer to 2 p.m. I have hated the expansion of daylight saving deep into November. It means there is no sunshine at all when local school buses pick up students. The morning sun is my greatest ally in rousing children from bed.
Third, the best argument will be used in the wrong direction. The biannual changing of the clocks really does mess with humans’ circadian rhythm, and there is a documented increase in motor accidents and other problems caused by the law-driven shift in timekeeping. This is a great argument for not changing the clocks twice a year — but it’s not an argument for permanent daylight saving, which would push sunrise to as late as 8:45 a.m. in some places. Unfortunately, I expect people to demagogue this the other way.