IT will soon be time to put the clocks forward an hour as daylight saving time will kick into effect in less than three weeks.
The ritual of changing clocks happens twice a year and it has a history that traces back to 1918.
In 1918, daylight saving time was known as War Time and it was introduced to preserve energy during World War I.
More than 100 years later, millions of households will bump their clocks forward an hour, but some locations do not follow.
Those in most of Arizona and Hawaii will not have to change their clocks.
And, neither will those who live in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.
Hundreds of bills and resolutions over whether to end the practice have been scrutinized, but it still remains.
President Donald Trump appears to back efforts to end daylight saving time.
The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! he posted on Truth Social in December.
“Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”
In 2025, Daylight saving time will begin on March 9.
And, it will end on November 2.
The tradition of changing clocks remains – despite state and federal lawmakers desperately trying to end the practice.
More than a dozen state legislatures have passed laws, creating a year-round daylight saving time.
Last spring, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law.
But, it has no effect because the law hasn’t been changed on a federal level.
Prominent Republicans on Capitol Hill have backed plans to “lock the clock.”
The states and territories that do not observe daylight saving time
THERE are two states and five territories that do not observe daylight saving time.
- Arizona (except the Navajo Nation)
- Hawaii
- American Samoa
- Guam
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- US Virgin Islands
Florida Senator Rick Scott introduced the bill on January 8.
In a statement, he said the practice of changing the clocks is “unnecessary.
He claimed that it’s an annoyance for families.
In 2018, Scott, then Florida governor, signed a bill that would’ve allowed Florida to remain on daylight saving time all year round.
Rising GOP star Katie Britt, an Alabama senator, described the ritual as antiquated.
Efforts to make daylight saving time all year round are supported by some Democratic lawmakers as well.
Massachusetts senator Ed Markey, who backs Scott’s bill, claimed that changing clocks twice a year impacts the US economy and Americans’ health.
Democrat Alex Padilla, a California senator, said: “Americans are sick of falling back and springing forward.”
In 2018, more than seven million Californians backed an effort to change the dates and times of daylight saving time.
Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation
Donald Trump
There are a number of states and territories that do not change the clocks twice a year.
In 1968, Arizona decided not to observe daylight saving time.
A newspaper article from the time claimed the decision was linked to the state’s climate.
But, the Navajo Nation does observe daylight saving time.
Northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah are part of the Navajo Nation.
And Hawaii is also exempt because the state’s position near the Equator means it gets enough sunlight all year round.
Efforts to make daylight saving time all year round come after it was a permanent feature.
The Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conversation Act came into force on January 6, 1974.
But, it meant that some states experienced darkness early in the morning.
And, in some locations it was not until 9am before it started to get light.
Some of the unintended consequences of the law were fatal.
Children were going to school in darkness and eight youngsters in Florida were killed.
The fatalities prompted Reubin Askew, the governor at the time, to propose a shift back to Eastern Time.
The Act was repealed in October 1974.
