Daylight Saving battle a waste of time

It can’t be November already, can it?

It sure can. In fact, we’re almost a week into the 11th month of the year and already barreling headlong toward the holidays. Once Daylight Saving Time ends (which it did this year on Nov. 1) and shaves an hour of daylight off the end of each day, the reality of another cold, dark winter starts setting in quickly. This process is a normal part of living in the far north, and this transitional period — while uncomfortable — is something most Alaskans begrudgingly put up with.

However, one thing that is starting to get awfully old when it comes to the battle between light and dark is the endless and pointless debate over whether Alaska should do away with Daylight Saving Time.

Almost every year, some Alaska politician carries the torch for those who wish to see the annual time shift abolished. You can almost set your watch by the regularity with which political types line up to push these measures forward, almost as if they draw straws to see who gets to bring the bill to the floor. This year, it’s the Valley’s own Wes Keller who is leading the charge with a bill that would not only end DST, but also align Alaska’s clocks with those on the rest of the West Coast. (For half the year, at least.)

The reason politicians are so keen on battling DST is that its abolition is wildly popular among rank-and-file Alaskans. A poll released by the Alaska Senate Majority recently showed 78 percent of Alaskans in favor of abolishing the annual time-changing ritual. There’s even a website (endalaskadaylightsaving.com) set up for the sole purpose of fighting the supposed evils of DST.

Any time politicians see such an overwhelming group of potential voters lined up behind an issue, you can guarantee they’ll try to portray themselves as being on the side of the people.

What Keller and his predecessors who have pushed this idea in the past won’t tell you is they know the game is rigged. As long as the rest of the U.S. adheres to Daylight Saving Time, there’s no chance Alaska is going to pull out. Because while it might be confusing to be constantly setting clocks forward in the spring, only to turn them back again in the fall, that will always beat the alternative.

Imagine if Alaska were to abolish DST. For the small benefit of not having to deal with the time-change hassle, Alaskans would face much more annoying problems. Instead of being a uniform four hours behind the East Coast all year long, the state would sometimes find itself four hours behind, other times five. This, in itself, should be confusing and problematic enough for businesses and individuals to oppose the change.

Keller’s idea to put Alaska on Pacific Time would ease this problem. But his solution would create a situation where western parts of Alaska would be using the same time as people thousands of miles to the east in Washington state. It also does nothing to address the fact that we’d still be using two different sets of time relative to the rest of the U.S. for half the year.

Keller’s bill to abolish its use is nothing more than a tired populist ploy. We suspect he knows just how dead the bill will eventually be when the debate ends (as it was last year, and every other time it’s been brought forward). But that won’t stop him from getting some mileage out of the issue before it dies.

The bottom line is that as long as the rest of the United States continues to use Daylight Saving Time, Alaska will have to as well. The politicians know this, yet they continue to waste time and resources going through the motions of proposing a repeal. This pointless exercise — not Daylight Saving Time — is what needs to end. Alaska’s politicians have better things to spend their time (and our money) on than arguing over an issue that’s already been decided.