Because we are close to the equator, our daylight hours don’t vary much. Honolulu has less than a three hour difference between the longest and the shortest day of the year. Because of this, someone decided that it’s not worth the effort for us to reset our clocks every six months. We don’t observe daylight savings time in Hawaii. (Neither do Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Arizona).
That doesn’t mean that we can ignore the time changes, of course. We have friends, family and colleagues on the mainland, and it won’t do to accidentally ring someone up at eleven p.m. when you meant to call at ten.
Changing clocks and keeping track of time differences is a hassle. And getting out of work only to drive home in the dark is depressing. Crime drops during daylight savings months, as criminals prefer to operate in the dark. Golf courses and other outdoor recreational facilities benefit from the extra hour of evening light. So why not make daylight savings time permanent?
Well, for one thing, morning light is good for us. And television networks don’t like DST. People tend to go outside when it’s light, and stay in and watch TV when it’s dark out. (Of course Netflix and other digital options mean that this might be the least of the networks’ problems.)
Read more about DST on National Geographic’s website , or check out Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time
Sun ray graphic designed by Freepik
You must be logged in to post a comment.