Daylight saving time is back: Set clocks forward this weekend

Hoitenga's legislation as introduced includes a provision that would only put year-round daylight saving time in effect in MI only if surrounding states - Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - also observed daylight saving time all year. The time shift means we lose an hour of sleep, but in exchange we'll enjoy more evening light for the next eight months - until we "fall back" to standard time again in early November.

About two-thirds of the days during the year operate on Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time 2021 begins on the second Sunday in March.

Daylight Saving Time will end on the first Sunday of November, which is Nov. 7 this year.

But what if we advanced the clocks this weekend and never had to turn them back?

The bill would negate the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year.

DST has roots tracing to 1918 in the United States, though not all places always observed it. Unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii, set your household clocks forward an hour on Saturday night.

Last year, residents of the Yukon changed their clocks for the last time, as the government decided the territory would no longer participate in seasonal time changes.

The same goes for B.C., which also took steps towards making Daylight Saving Time permanent a year ago but is waiting on California before implementing the change.

The only problem is that making daylight saving time permanent doesn't actually provide more sunlight (a summary of the legislation wisely makes this disclaimer).

Despite the partisanship that grips Washington - with this moment being no exception amid intractable political division - members of Congress seem to come together yearly as part of an endeavor to once and for all stop the sun from setting before 5 p.m.in the winter. Its origins dates back to World War I as a wartime effort to conserve fuel; in fact, it was first implemented in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, foes of the US and its allies in that conflict.

Of course, many northern states like North Dakota or MI already put up with late post-8 a.m. winter sunrises even during standard time.