ShadowTiger
11-01-2006, 10:44 AM
The Article (http://www.slate.com/id/2152155/?GT1=8805)
Would the United States be better off with only one time zone?
Here's a fraction of the article. Read the rest for yourself; it's not that long.
Any resident of Queensland in Australia can assure you of this. Queensland doesn't switch to daylight-saving time when the other east-coast states do, but some Queenslanders simply get out of bed earlier in the winter to stay in sync. Or consider the states in northern Mexico, which align their time zones with the neighboring U.S. states rather than the rest of the country, even down to the idiosyncrasies of whether daylight-saving time is observed.
All that creates a problem. Not every Queensland resident synchronizes with the rest of the country, which means that neighbors will be out of sync with each other. The Californian demands that the barista rises early, which might also lead to demands for early rising by the barista's wife, bus driver, nanny, or mailman. Perhaps it would be better for the United States and Australia to mimic China in having a single, unified time zone. That would get everybody in sync with each other, although not with the daylight. So, which is more important—coordination or sunlight?
So, which is more important to you? Coordination of times, or Sunlight? Personally, I'd pick Coordination in a jiffy. I'll wake up whenever the hell the sun will rise and then someone. I don't care about it, really. We have like, six alarm clocks. I'd rather say a time, and have everyone just KNOW what that means, and now have to hear any more about "Good morning Todd." "It's the afternoon here." "Oh, sorry man."
Would the United States be better off with only one time zone?
Here's a fraction of the article. Read the rest for yourself; it's not that long.
Any resident of Queensland in Australia can assure you of this. Queensland doesn't switch to daylight-saving time when the other east-coast states do, but some Queenslanders simply get out of bed earlier in the winter to stay in sync. Or consider the states in northern Mexico, which align their time zones with the neighboring U.S. states rather than the rest of the country, even down to the idiosyncrasies of whether daylight-saving time is observed.
All that creates a problem. Not every Queensland resident synchronizes with the rest of the country, which means that neighbors will be out of sync with each other. The Californian demands that the barista rises early, which might also lead to demands for early rising by the barista's wife, bus driver, nanny, or mailman. Perhaps it would be better for the United States and Australia to mimic China in having a single, unified time zone. That would get everybody in sync with each other, although not with the daylight. So, which is more important—coordination or sunlight?
So, which is more important to you? Coordination of times, or Sunlight? Personally, I'd pick Coordination in a jiffy. I'll wake up whenever the hell the sun will rise and then someone. I don't care about it, really. We have like, six alarm clocks. I'd rather say a time, and have everyone just KNOW what that means, and now have to hear any more about "Good morning Todd." "It's the afternoon here." "Oh, sorry man."