Hoosiers went through all this a generation ago.
Now, it seems, America is about to share in the joy.
Yes, as if the nation needed one more thing to argue about, that opportunity may come in the form of daylight saving time.
It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
The debate over timekeeping has arisen nationally, thanks to President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” czars Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. As the duo stated support for ending daylight saving time earlier this month, Trump amplified that outlook on social media, calling DST “inconvenient” and “very costly” to the nation.
Meanwhile, the author of a 2021 U.S. Senate bill proposing to make DST permanent is Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed in Senate in 2022, but remains stuck in Congress.
If enacted, it would make DST permanent with one exception — “states with areas exempt from daylight saving time may choose the standard time for those areas.” It’s not yet certain whether the incoming Trump administration primarily aims to end the twice-a-year clock changing, or to prevent the later sunrises and sunsets.
For now, Americans may need to decide whether they prefer the present DST system of springing forward one hour each March and falling back one hour each November; or making DST year-round with later-evening hours of daylight; or scrapping DST all together in favor of year-round standard time with earlier sunrises.
And for Hoosier Americans, there’s another option to consider — moving from the Eastern Time zone into the Central Time zone.
In what may seem like a “Back to the Future” sequel, let’s revisit what could’ve happened for Indiana nearly 20 years ago. That’s when the Hoosier state adopted daylight saving time — the most recent state to do so.
As you may remember, former Gov. Mitch Daniels asserted that Indiana’s adherence to standard time — with more early sunrises and no clock changing — was hurting the state’s economy.
Businesses in other states were forever confused by “what time it is in Indiana.”
So, with Daniels’ push, a sharply divided state Legislature voted to place Indiana on Eastern Daylight Time by a narrow two-vote margin in April 2005, and it took effect a year later.
Eighteen years later, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce remains supportive of DST.
In a statement to the Tribune- Star last week, Indiana Chamber President and CEO Vanessa Green Sinders, said, “Our organization was and remains a big proponent of Indiana being on daylight-saving time (DST).
By recognizing DST, Indiana business operating hours are more predictable. When the state did not observe DST, Hoosier businesses often experienced confusion by customers, suppliers and business associates in other parts of the country and world. There’s no question DST positively impacts Indiana’s economy.” There’s also the question of the proper time zone, though.
According to “true solar time,” Indiana is actually more geographically suited to be in the Central Time Zone.
Indianapolis (the state’s midpoint) is closer to the Central Time Zone’s longitudinal midpoint (around St. Louis) than the Eastern Time Zone’s midpoint (around Philadelphia).
So, should the Indiana Legislature have picked Central Time instead?
If noted Bloomington sports statistician Jeff Sagarin’s preference becomes reality, Indiana would stop changing its clocks and shift into the Central Time Zone, aligning Hoosiers with their Illinois neighbors.
“Indiana should be on Central Standard Time all year round,” said Sagarin, whose sports stats website Sagarin.com also features time-zone calculations.
His position is based on the sun. Think of the term “straight-up noon,” a reference to the sun being directly overhead. As it is now under Eastern Daylight Saving Time, the sun reaches that straight-overhead spot at about 1:56 p.m. on July 31 in Terre Haute, almost two hours after “true noon.”
“This is an argument where the evidence is straight up in the sky,” Sagarin said.
The impact on Hoosiers of the various possibilities — staying with as-is DST, year-round DST, year-round standard time, or moving to Central Time — is another point of debate.
Tourism and outdoorsbased entities (like the oft-mentioned golf course industry) contend the daylight saving time’s longer evening hours fuel business.
(Though Sagarin points out that, because Indiana is in the wrong time zone, as he contends, golfers wind up playing in the hottest part of the day.) Retailers also believe they benefit, with shoppers tending to be more active when the sun’s out, according to a 2016 J.P. Morgan Chase Institute study cited by Fortune magazine.
How real is the economic impact that former Gov. Daniels cited? A 2011 study by a Rose-Hulman professor found that employment increased in a small but notable measure in Indiana counties as a result of DST.
But daylight saving time also is blamed for more auto accidents in the extended darkness of early mornings.
Kids wait for, and ride to school on buses in the dark, too, another potential hazard. Different studies reach different conclusions on the dangers of that situation. The same goes for whether DST saves energy, or increases consumption.
Perhaps the clearest criticism of daylight saving time is its impact on health. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports the implementation of standard time, with its earlier sunrises and no clock-changing.
“Daylight saving time disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythms and impacts sleep,” AASM President and licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer Martin said in a statement on the group’s website. “Standard time provides a better opportunity to get the right duration of high-quality, restful sleep on a regular basis, which improves out cognition, mood, cardiovascular health and overall well-being.”
Sounds as if we all need to rest up now, while Indiana observes standard time (until DST resumes in March).
Exhausting arguments over timekeeping may be ahead.
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