Columbus, Ohio – Ohio’s attempt to permanently adopt daylight saving time has lately made advancement at the Statehouse in a positive direction. Inspired by House approval last December, the bipartisan effort—embodied in Concurrent Resolution 7—saw a positive result this month at a Senate General Government Committee hearing.
The resolution supports the passage of the “Sunshine Protection Act” by the U.S. Congress, therefore establishing daylight saving time year-round all over the country. Proponents, including the main supporters of the measure, Bob Peterson (R-Sabina) and Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria), argue that the biannual clock adjustments are obsolete and lead to significant health and safety concerns. Studies referenced during the June hearing indicate that the practice disturbs sleep patterns and raises incidence of cardiac problems and job injuries.
“A recent study revealed that sleep loss, even for as little as one hour, can decrease a child’s quality of life, showing significant negative impacts on the children’s physical well-being as well as their ability to cope with the school environment,” Creech said.
Emphasizing the need of a more constant temporal framework, the debate also explored the possible rise in fatal accidents linked with the time change.
Still, the plan runs across resistance. President of the non-profit Save Standard Time Jay Pea supports year-round standard time continuation. Permanent daylight saving, he claims, would result in artificially late sunrises that would interfere with daily activities of kids and vital workers. Pea’s position is supported by the assertion that natural light better fits human circadian rhythms, therefore improving general health and production.
The lawmakers also challenged the historical rationale for daylight saving, first embraced during World War I in order to save energy. They cited a 2008 Australian study showing that the change solely alters demand patterns rather than genuinely reducing electricity usage.
Should the “Sunshine Protection Act” be passed, delayed sunsets and sunrises would mark the winter. For the first day of winter, the sun would rise in New York at 8:15 a.m. and set at 5:30 p.m., therefore disrupting the existing timetable by one hour.
Time shift has spurred a national discussion whereby some other states show interest in implementing permanent daylight saving time while others would rather use regular time. Strong demand for change is reflected in public opinion; a Monmouth University poll shows that 61% of Americans favor eliminating the semi-annual time change.
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Driven by both pragmatic issues and the quest of better public health and safety, Ohio’s decision for more debate underlines a larger movement towards reevaluating how time is perceived among Americans nationwide.
