Meeting Public Comments

Michael Garrahan [Save Standard Time]

I oppose HF 498 (permanent DST) unless the amendment H1125 (standard time) is adopted. Though some take it for granted, morning light is just as important as evening light. In Des Moines, the bill as introduced would put sunrise at 8 AM or later from November 12 to February 22 (103 days) and as late as 8:41 in early January.Contrary to popular belief, DST does not benefit farmers; they led the postwar drive to repeal it in 1919 and continued to oppose it until the Uniform Time Act of 1966.Nor is the health impact of DST limited to the transitions; recent research (reviewed by Roenneberg et al. 2019, Frontiers of Physiology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00944) also finds that chronic circadian misalignment has negative effects. Furthermore, with today's efficient lighting and widespread air conditioning, DST no longer saves energy.Permanent DST would darken winter mornings as in 1974, when the public found it unsafe and demanded a return to standard time that fall. Yearround standard time puts nearly equal shares of daylight in the AM and PM hours, is recommended by the American Medical Association, and can be implemented without an act of Congress. Please choose the latter.