The Today Show anchors are weighing in on a hotly contested debate.
On the Monday, December 16 installment of the show, hosts Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin waded into the “unending debate” of Daylight Saving Time, ahead of what is slated to be the shortest day of the year, and following President-elect Donald Trump’s recent position on it.
“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight SavingTime, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” the former reality star recently wrote.
Correspondent Emily Ikeda introduced the topic, noting that “the bi-annual clock change has become a bi-annual conversation,” and that Congress is “finding it difficult to agree on a permanent solution.”
She went on to explain: “The practice of springing forward and falling back was intended to take advantage of daylight and save on electricity, but today many find the flip-flopping antiquated,” and noted: “Nearly ⅔ of Americans support locking the clock.”
However, she then added: “But which way to lock the clock is more contentious,” further explaining how “year-round Daylight Saving Time would prioritize light in the evening, something more than 700 bills and resolutions in state legislatures have pushed for,” meanwhile “year-round Standard Time would prioritize light in the morning, and would be better suited for our biological clocks and health, according to the American Medical Association.”
She quoted experts who argue that we sleep less on Daylight Saving Time, because of the inclination to stay up later when the sun doesn’t fall as early, and sleep less in the morning when sunrise is earlier.
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“Here’s the thing, if we were to stick to the same time all year, what would that actually look like in different parts of the country?” Craig then wondered.
© GettyTo that, Emily explained some of the “complicated” pros and cons. She said: “Here’s where it gets a little complicated. If we did Standard Time permanently year-round, parts of Maine would see the sunrise before 4am, and that also means it would set before 4pm.”
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© GettyHowever, she added: “On the other side of things, if we say Daylight Saving time permanent year-round, Indianapolis, Detroit, for the dreariest parts of winter, they could see the sunrise not until after 9am, and North Dakota that could be closer to 10am, but then you get the light later into the day, closer to 10pm, so it’s a little complicated.”
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© NBCShe noted that in the 1970s, the country did try to do Daylight Saving Time year-round, “but they reverted back within a year because of all of the traffic accidents.”
Savannah, who grew up in Arizona, where the time changes are not observed, then said: “It’s just so weird, who is like, ‘You know what let’s just change time?'” arguing: “Who are we to change clocks?”
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