Why Arizona doesn't have Daylight Saving Time


Like most people, I have no idea what Daylight Saving Time is all about, and what it's for. But I have a special reason for my ignorance - I live in Arizona.

Arizona doesn't do Daylight Saving Time. Well, it's used on the Navajo Res I just read, but otherwise here in Phoenix it's always Mountain Standard Time, spring, summer, winter, or fall. And I just take it for granted, among all of the other things I love about living in Arizona.

I assumed that Arizona just never "got with the program", and was surprised to find that it actually tried it, back in the 1960s. I have a neighbor who remembers it. Apparently it was tried for a couple of years, and failed miserably.

The reason has to do with the fact that it's very hot in Phoenix. There's no need to add additional hours of sunlight in order to conserve energy, which would just be lightbulbs, anyway. Sunlight in Phoenix means that air conditioners are working their hardest. And if you know the Sonoran Desert, you know that the temperature drops off when the sun goes down. In fact, a lot of activities in Phoenix are done at night, like baseball games at the park, that sort of thing.

Oddly enough, this also works out fine for us "Zonies" who go to California in the summer. Because they have Daylight Saving Time, and we don't, it's the same time in Arizona and California in the summer. I don't need to change my watch, or the time on my car's dashboard. And when there's an hour difference, in the winter, I don't go to California. Why should I? It's beautiful in Phoenix in the winter!

So, Arizonans don't need to "fall back" or "spring ahead" (or is it the other way around?). We don't have to worry about losing an hour of sleep, or being late for work, anything like that. And it's just another reason that I love living in Arizona!

Image at the top of this post: Tres Rios Wetlands at sunset, Phoenix, Arizona.
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