Can't We Just Pick One?

In March of 1941, the State of Georgia moved completely into the Eastern time zone. Until then, one third of the state, including the capital city of Atlanta, was in the Central time zone. Governor Eugene Talmadge signed a law moving the whole state into the Eastern time zone. The Interstate Commerce Commission objected and, for a time, planes and railways still operated on two time zones until the Interstate Commerce Commission decided to give the state what it wanted.

Yesterday, frustrated by the constant falling back and springing forward, the Georgia Senate voted to move Georgia into the Atlantic time zone, keeping the state perpetually in daylight saving time.

It is a terrible idea.

I honestly have no preference and wish the government would just pick one. I hate that in July, when we want to shoot fireworks, it doesn’t get dark in Georgia until almost ten o’clock at night.

In the winter, with standard time, it’s hard to get to the golf course after work and get in even nine holes.

Under federal law, if a state wants to stay on standard time, it can do so without an Act of Congress. Arizona and Hawaii both do that. If a state wants permanent daylight saving time, Congress must act. But a state choosing to move into a new timezone can be done by the state, though the Secretary of Transportation must sign off on it, or matters of interstate commerce would continue in the old timezone. So, Georgia could say it wants to be an hour ahead, but flights out of Atlanta would run an hour behind, while still claiming to take off at, for example, 11:00 a.m. The airport and trains would run on Eastern time, while the state ran on Atlantic time.

The problem with Georgia running on Atlantic time is that the state is actually the state furthest west in the Eastern time zone. On Christmas morning, the sun rises in Georgia at 7:40 a.m. right now. Under the plan under consideration by the state legislature, the sun would not rise until 8:40 a.m. on Christmas.

The sun would still rise, right on schedule, but Georgia would just be an hour ahead. Because daylight saving time does not impact the Atlantic standard time zone, Georgia, during daylight saving time, would be the same time as Eastern daylight time. But when the nation falls back in the Fall, suddenly Georgia would be an hour ahead of New York City, despite the whole state being further west than New Your City, and Georgia would also be two hours ahead of Alabama and the Florida panhandle, despite being right next door.

The business implications are a disaster. From airline schedules to interoffice conference calls, etc. etc. etc.

I understand the intention, but this would be a terrible idea if implemented. The reason we have stayed with fall back and spring forward is because southern states want permanent daylight saving time, and northern states want permanent standard time. It benefits northern states in the winter to have standard time and benefits southern states to have daylight saving time in the summer. But, as a nation, we only have standard time for four months. Daylight saving time is the default for eight months.

The reality is that standard time makes a lot of sense. We just don’t use it in the summer and people are convinced it would get dark too early. It actually would not and we should keep in mind the big tourist state of Hawaii is fine with permanent standard time. The summer evenings would still be long. This Memorial Day, the sun will set at 8:38pm EDT in Atlanta, Georgia. On the summer solstice, the sun wills et at 8:51pm EDT, with light until around 9:35pm EDT.

Move to standard time, back those times down an hour, and there is still plenty of light. At the Fourth of July, there’d still be light at 8:35pm, but by 9pm it’d be dark enough for fireworks.

Regardless, Congress should just pick one. Standard time makes sense the more I have thought about it. I don’t really care. But moving Georgia into Atlantic standard time is a really bad idea.