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McCook Gazette
Letter to the Editor

Solar noon affects Daylight Saving Time arguments

Friday, January 21, 2011

EDITOR'S NOTE -- The following letter was sent to two Nebraska state senators in support of a repealing Daylight Saving Time:

Dear Senator Schilz and Senator Coash

I agree with your proposal for Nebraska to end summer daylight saving (Bill LB 101).

According to the standard UTC time zones most of Nebraska already has daylight saving in winter and does NOT need extra daylight saving in summer. This is very similar to the situation in Arizona where they have elected not to have extra daylight saving in summer.

Summer daylight saving's greatest controversy is the biannual time changes that it requires. While it seems that the majority of people favour the lighter evenings that daylight saving brings, many are opposed to and willing to forego summer daylight saving for that reason alone ("I don't care whether we have daylight saving or not, just stop fiddling with the clocks").

I have attached a proposal for all the states in the USA to have year round daylight saving and permanently avoid the biannual time change. The U.S. time zones, however, do not lend themselves to simply advancing the time ahead of standard time year round. Some regions will find (as Indiana has) that they may in fact lose energy or road safety benefits and some modification to the time zones will be needed.

To this end, a good understanding of time zones and especially solar noon and how it relates to energy and road safety benefits is required.

Please remember when reviewing the proposal that solar noon in Lincoln is 12:30 p.m. in winter and 1:30 p.m. in summer with daylight saving. Under my proposal Nebraska, would remain in the -6 UTC time zone year round and Lincoln would have a solar noon of 12:30 p.m. year round.

There are currently proposals in Louisiana, Florida and Indiana to have those states use the -5 UTC time zone year round and for Colorado to use the -6 UTC time zone year round. My proposal would accomplish that as well.

Yours sincerely

Dr. Allan Clarke

Minyama, Queensland,

Australia

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  • Wow, a wombat huh? Sure shows a lot of respect for that Dr. in front of his name.

    I say do away with the whole daylight savings time concept. Doesn't save any energy anyway, farmers don't like it, get rid of it.

    And frankly I don't give a **** about your fishing. Get up an hour earlier in the morning. LOL

    Just commentin'

    -- Posted by goarmy67 on Sat, Jan 22, 2011, at 6:38 PM

  • I hate daylight savings and would prefer no time change. i lived in Phoenix and it was nice not to have to deal with it.

    -- Posted by Chaco1 on Sun, Jan 23, 2011, at 10:12 AM

  • I agree with you Doc, leave the clocks alone. Keep the time the same the year round.

    -- Posted by salamat on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 9:57 AM

  • Not THAT old ochosinco.

    Just sayin..........leave the clocks alone, no more day light savin' time.

    -- Posted by goarmy67 on Mon, Jan 24, 2011, at 1:54 PM

  • Do away with daylight savings time and let everyone adjust their business, work, school and recreation hours to what works best for them.

    -- Posted by azulancer on Thu, Jan 27, 2011, at 3:58 PM
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