Should We Get Rid of Daylight Saving Time?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Sunday marks the beginning of daylight saving time in most of the U.S. and Canada, drawing various angles of media coverage.
For Context: All states except Arizona and Hawaii observe daylight saving time. In recent years, there have been calls to abolish the practice, something Mexico did in 2022.
The History: Daylight Saving began in the World Wars, enacted by many nations trying to save energy. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 granted states the option to opt in or out of the practice statewide but prohibited them from remaining on daylight saving time year-round. During an energy crisis in 1970, the U.S. made daylight saving time a year-round practice, but several media outlets like Voice of America (Center bias) and Washington Post (Lean Left bias) have reported that people strongly disliked it.
Rubio’s Movement: Currently, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and a bipartisan group of other senators are pushing to make daylight saving time permanent. In 2022, a bill sponsored by Rubio, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, unanimously cleared the Senate, but then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declined to consider the matter in the House. Several senators later said they were unaware of what they were supporting, however.
American Sentiments: The New York Post (Lean Right bias) cited a 2023 Economist/YouGov poll that found 62% of Americans supported eliminating changing the clocks twice a year. CBS News (Lean Left bias) cited a 2022 CBS News/YouGov poll that found 80% of Americans supported some change to the current system.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Rubio, other lawmakers battle to make daylight saving permanent
Americans sprang forward Sunday in the controversial annual tradition of daylight saving time, prompting over a dozen senators to re-up their push to “lock the clock” and make the change permanent.
“We’re ‘springing forward’ but should have never ‘fallen back.’ My Sunshine Protection Act would end this stupid practice of changing our clocks back and forth,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said last week as he renewed his efforts to end the practice.
Back in 2022, a bill sponsored by Rubio — the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 — cleared the Senate via unanimous consent. Several...
From the Center
Daylight Saving Time: Why Do We Set Our Clocks Forward in Spring?
Once again, most Americans will set their clocks forward by one hour this weekend, losing perhaps a bit of sleep but gaining more glorious sunlight in the evenings as the days warm into summer.
Where did this all come from, though?
How we came to move the clock forward in the spring, and then push it back in the fall, is a tale that spans over more than a century — one that's driven by two world wars, mass confusion at times and a human desire to bask in the...
From the Left
The 2 states that don't do daylight saving — and how they got rid of time changes for good
As 2024's daylight saving time starts, most of the U.S. will change the time on clocks — but there are two states and several territories that do not observe daylight saving time.
Come Sunday, people across the country will move clocks forward an hour and lose an hour of sleep. Daylight saving time ends, with clocks moving back an hour, on Nov. 3. The twice annual clock change isn't observed everywhere in the U.S.
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