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This year could be the last for daylight saving time
Mike Davis is reporting for the Asbury Park Press daylight saving time ends for most of the United States at 2 a.m. on November 6, which means another year of turning the clocks back and another four months of early sunsets as the weather starts to get colder. But this year may be the last time the clocks have to be turned back. In March, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would permanently keep the country in daylight saving time and end the biannual clock-turning. The measure passed by unanimous consent, but some senators did not realize until afterward what the bill actually entailed. The measure has yet to be voted on in the House. Under standard time, the sun will rise in the Hudson Valley at, roughly, 7:18 a.m. and set at 4:30 p.m. on December 21, the shortest day of the year. With daylight saving time, the sun would rise at roughly 8:18 a.m. and set at 5:30 p.m. According to a Monmouth University poll, 61 percent of Americans support a measure to end the practice of turning back the clocks. Proponents of daylight saving time say making it the new norm would mean less darkness, which means less crime, fewer car crashes and less energy used. More sunlight means more recreation and commerce. Daylight saving time opponents argue that our bodies are intrinsically linked to the sun and the seasons. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine believes permanent daylight saving time "disrupts the natural seasonal adjustment of the human clock due to the effect of late-evening light on the circadian rhythm." Read more at poughkeepsiejournal [dot] com.