Arizona doesn't have any issues. They're standard time year round.
We _should_ abolish DST. The issue is that there are people who want to abolish Standard Time because, I don't know, they have weird notions about how awesome it is to have the sun up at 8pm. Or don't understand that there are just fewer hours of sunlight in the winter in general. Yeah, it's going to get dark earlier, it's a thing that happens every year. It's better to have early morning sun than late evening sun.
And the last time we tried abolishing standard time, everyone hated it and we went back to switching between daylight and standard. But places that abolish daylight savings time never go back.
It's a case where people are particularly stubborn about wanting to validate their feelings rather than do the thing that would actually work. Because people bitch and bitch about standard time in the winter and think they're bitching about the time system. When really, they're just bitching about it being winter, but they don't realize that.
> It's better to have early morning sun than late evening sun.
Is there actual data backing that up or just your opinion?
I personally really enjoy more hours of sun in the afternoon and early evening. As an office worker most of my mornings are just waking up and getting ready for work, not normally lots of time for recreation. Having more hours of light later in the day aligns with my free time hours better.
There is data backing up that early morning sun is better. It being light out when kids go to school and when we drive to work is more important. There are also things about our circadian rhythms and what not.
The "more hours of sun" is only an issue in the winter. In the summer/spring/fall, the sun goes down at reasonable enough times for you to still do all of your recreation. But in the winter, the sun is going to go down earlier anyway. And what sort of after-work recreation are you doing that requires the sun to be out?
We _should_ abolish DST. The issue is that there are people who want to abolish Standard Time because, I don't know, they have weird notions about how awesome it is to have the sun up at 8pm. Or don't understand that there are just fewer hours of sunlight in the winter in general. Yeah, it's going to get dark earlier, it's a thing that happens every year. It's better to have early morning sun than late evening sun.
And the last time we tried abolishing standard time, everyone hated it and we went back to switching between daylight and standard. But places that abolish daylight savings time never go back.
It's a case where people are particularly stubborn about wanting to validate their feelings rather than do the thing that would actually work. Because people bitch and bitch about standard time in the winter and think they're bitching about the time system. When really, they're just bitching about it being winter, but they don't realize that.