Shawdesh Desk: We are less than a month away from gaining an hour of sleep as daylight saving time ends.
Daylight saving time started on Sunday, March 14, when we “sprung ahead” and lost an hour of sleep. Turning our clocks one hour ahead in spring is supposed to help us save energy and capitalize on the spring sunlight. When daylight saving starts, the sun rises and sets later.
Over 70 countries participate in daylight saving time each year, but the beginning and end dates vary from one to another. On Sunday, Nov. 7, daylight saving time will come to an end as Americans in observing states set their clocks back one hour. While the sun will rise a little earlier after we change our clocks, it will also set earlier, according to the Farmer’s Almanac .
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Not a fan of changing the clocks twice a year? You aren’t alone. As daylight saving time rolls around each year, so do questions about the practice and even proposals to do away with it.
In March of 2021, there was a bipartisan effort called the “Sunshine Protection Act of 2021” that proposed to make daylight saving time permanent, instead of falling back every November.
The legislation was introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio, (R-Fla.); James Lankford, (R-Okla.); Roy Blunt, (R-Mo.); Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-RI); Ron Wyden, (D-Ore.); Cindy Hyde-Smith, (R-Miss.); Rick Scott, (R-Fla.); and Ed Markey, (D-Mass.).
The bill was ultimately referred to the subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and has yet to pass in the House or Senate.
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So for now, Americans who don’t live in Hawaii and Arizona, where they don’t observe the time changes – will still have to change their clocks twice a year, with the daylight saving time set to end on Nov. 7. After we fall behind then, we won’t have to spring our clocks forward again until Sunday, March 13.
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