What Year-Round Daylight Saving Time Would Look Like in Jersey
Hey, the sun is no longer setting at 4:30 pm! Yay!
Thanks to Daylight Saving Time (DST) kicking in this week, it now stays lighter later in the day.
(It's also darker later in the morning, but no one talks about that...)
Daylight Saving Time happens every year when we move our clocks forward an hour. It ends when we change the clocks back in the fall.
According to TimeAndDate.com, Daylight Saving Time "is used to save energy and make better use of daylight. It was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada." Daylight Saving Time is practiced in over 70 countries.
Here in the USA, not all states participate - some never change their clocks.
While many states have wanted to go full-time to DST, it was never allowed thanks to federal law. Now, though, the US Senate has just passed a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent. (It still needs approval by the House, and the signature of the President.)
So, what happens here in South Jersey if that happens?
I'll tell you what: you're going to have some very dark mornings!
According to TimeAndDate.com, the mornings will be darkest in December. Do you know how it's dark at 4:30ish now in December? Get ready for sunrises after 8 am. The second half of December will not see the sunrise until after 8:15 am!
In December the sun will set between 5:30 and 5:45 pm.
That will really be the biggest difference, but it is big - especially for kids in school. School busses will be picking up and dropping off kids in the dark in the morning. That could be a safety factor.
Other than that, our summers will remain the same, and most people would be going home while it's still light out.
So, yes, there's a trade-off. Which do you prefer?
SOURCES: TimeAndDate.com and CNN.com.