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Should we have daylight saving time?
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Daylight saving time supports some companies but not others.

The concept helps companies who benefit from sunlight and harms those who don't.
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The Argument

Daylight Saving Time has been kept alive by the consumer industry because it helps companies that profit from added sunlight and hurt companies that don't. Some examples of companies who benefit from sunlight include sports/recreational equipment companies, BBQ grill companies, and sunscreen companies.[1] The petroleum industry benefits greatly.[1] The longer the day, the higher the chance people will drive more. While people can obviously drive at night, they are more likely to run errands and attend activities during the daylight hours. Along with this boost in the petroleum industry comes an increase in pollution due to gas consumption, thus cancelling out the little amount of energy saved by Daylight Saving Time. On the flip side, Daylight Saving Time negatively affects companies that do not benefit from sunlight. For example, it has a large effect on primetime television networks. Viewership typically plunges in the spring (after the "spring forward" time change). In fact, primetime shows that air on Mondays suffer a 10% drop in viewership on the spring Monday after the clocks change.[1]

Counter arguments

Getting rid of Daylight Saving Time would just flip the tables, resulting in favoring companies who do not benefit from added sunlight.

Premises

[P1] Some companies benefit from added sunlight, while others don't. [P2] Daylight Saving Time unfairly favors companies that benefit from added sunlight and hurts those that don't.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Not having Daylight Saving Time would simply have the opposite effect.

References

  1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daylight-saving-time_n_4936224?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9yLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20vX3lsdD1BMGdlS0xrQ1lrUmV2aDBBR1JCWE55b0E7X3lsdT1YM29ETVRFeWNHdHNNemMzQkdOdmJHOERZbVl4QkhCdmN3TXlCSFowYVdRRFFUQTFPVGxmTVFSelpXTURjM0ktL1JWPTIvUkU9MTU4MTU2ODY0My9STz0xMC9SVT1odHRwcyUzYSUyZiUyZnd3dy5odWZmcG9zdC5jb20lMmZlbnRyeSUyZmRheWxpZ2h0LXNhdmluZy10aW1lX25fNDkzNjIyNC9SSz0yL1JTPWhuYzJmdmFkcm5Td2pUZjdtQ00wMldkRFBzdy0&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAI2Y9Krz6icUxzRW9fyENdaNi0KleAvSi-vkC0YOaDxfg96PMsp7WgY-sVJ9FsQg7_85Qj1Ya5yKSw7H_qVMg3HAm2rBH9ecT2Agrn6gvcAHIpoLmpnqUUKtSbRAT1fAFU2amzzpSlZThhgzoxzAfm_rjkapBNokhR_4pY-gM5BU
This page was last edited on Friday, 17 Apr 2020 at 11:13 UTC

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