PLEASE HELP ABOLISH DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN ALASKA IN THE 2009-2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

SUPPORT HOUSE BILL 19  (HB19)  -  REPEAL OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

 

 The State House has passed the repeal bill.  It still needs to pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor.  It is still called House Bill 19.  

 

January 20, 2010 -  NO HEARINGS SCHEDULED TO DATE.  On Jan 20th the Senate President directed yet another senate committee hold a hearing . This would be a forth committee referral  which is generally a stalling tactic meant to kill a bill.  Now the Senate Finance Committee (FIN)  must hear the bill  also.  The  Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee (CRA),  Senate Labor and Commerce Committee (L&C), and now Senate Finance Committee  must hold hearings.  These three  hearings and a floor vote in the Senate must be held by the end of the second session of this Legislature.  Then the Governor must sign the bill into law  The second session will end in mid April 2010.  If you support ending DST in Alaska you need to help.   A telephone call and an email to your Representative and Senator is critical.  If you can, please testify in writing or in person at the next hearing. Thanks.

 

 

 

20 REASONS WE CAN NOW QUIT USING DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN ALASKA

1. Alaskan's live in " The land of the Midnight Sun".

2. Instant time change disturbs sleep patterns which creates a state sponsored "jet lag" twice each year.

3. There is no longer a clear and compelling need to impact over 683,000 Alaskans twice each year with this law. 

4. With creation of the single Alaskan Time Zone in 1983  most of Alaska went  on  permanent DST.

5. The 1983 time zone change advanced clocks permanently in two of the three Alaskan time zones affected.   Now when we advance clocks each year, we create" double" and even "triple" DST in most of Alaska which causes a two hour difference between "sun time" and "clock time" in the rail belt region including Fairbanks and Anchorage and three hours in Western Alaska communities and villages.

6. The 1983 time zone change permanently advanced the rail belt region one hour and  northwestern Alaska  two hours closer to markets in the lower 48.

7. What savings of daylight?  For every hour you gain in evening daylight, you lose an hour of morning light.

8. We gain daylight rapidly in springtime Alaska without DST.  According to the (Naval Observatory), rounding to the nearest half hour, both Anchorage and Fairbanks have gained one  hour of natural daylight within 8 days of the onset of DST.

9. Advances in communication technology now allow business and personal contact 24/7 to anywhere in the nation or world.

10. Alaska will be in a different time zone with or without DST.

11. Alaska now does business with the Pacific Far East where DST is not used.

12. No Alaskan Utility claims a savings of energy by use of DST.  Saving Energy is why the Federal Government allows  DST in those states that choose to use DST.  

13.  DST doesn't save energy on a hot summer day either. (Scientific American March 2009) A portion of Indiana recently went on DST.  That portion experienced 1% increase in residential electrical use due to air conditioning increase use when time of sunset delayed. 

14. (New England Journal of Medicine 2008)  Sweden,  a northern latitude populace, experienced 5% increase in myocardial infarction (heart attack) rate in days following onset of DST.  This is attributed to disturbance in sleep patterns.

15.  Anchorage School District supports ending DST because of impact on students (Committee Minutes 4:06:15 PM Mar 16,  2009 before House Labor and Commerce Committee).

16.  Daylight Saving Time is not practiced in every State or Canadian Province.  Hawaii and Arizona don't use DST.  Saskatchewan has adopted Central Standard Time for year round use.

17.  Changing every time keeping device in homes and businesses, including indoor mechanical heating/cooling/security systems, is expensive and time consuming.  Link to  story about the cost of  this.  Chrysler scraps clock changing

18.  The Legislature cannot control the ocean tides for fishermen,  nor  the weather that will impact outdoor activity.

19.  DST doesn't affect the many devices now  using  photoelectric sensors that respond to ambient light,  not the time of day.

20.  Thousands of Alaskans signed a petition asking to vote on this issue and polling data from Dittman Research and Hellenthal & Associates shows majority of Alaskans would support ending DST use in Alaska.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: FEDERAL LAW ALLOWS ANY STATE TO OPT OUT OF USING DST.

                                                               

Text Box: So, please contact your Representative ,your Senator and the Office of the Governor.  Politely (or otherwise) ask him or her to support House Bill 19 - DST repeal legislation. If you need help  click here to find your Senate Seat and House District for your community.  Next, click on the district number next to your legislator's name and you will  see contact information.   THANKS!                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                  

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Change your clocks again at 2:00a.m. on Sunday March 14, 2009

 

Links for further reading in the website:

 

 

 

THE 2004 DITTMAN RESEARCH POLL ON DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (LINK)

THE 2005 HELLENTHAL POLL ON DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (LINK)

WHY END DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN ALASKA ? (LINK)

LEGISLATIVE EFFORT TO END DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN ALASKA SINCE 1999 (LINK)

LINKS TO THE LEGISLATURE AND OTHER  PLACES (LINK)

NEW BOOKS ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME (LINK)

 THE 2006 PETITION EFFORT (LINK)

 

Thanks for visiting the web site. Please check back for updates.

 

EMAIL : email link

 

 

L. Willis