Should Massachusetts Switch to Atlantic Time Zone?

The end of daylight saving time means heading home from work in the dark, cooler late afternoons, and the beginning of the winter blahs.

But what if the daylight in Massachusetts could last a little longer in the winter than other states in the region? Massachusetts lawmakers are considering just that.

A quincy man is advocating the commonwealth switch from Eastern Standard Time to Atlantic Time, which is an hour ahead of Eastern time.

“The idea of defecting from our time zone might seem strange. Yet the emerging science and the geographic reality of life in New England make it an idea worth serious consideration,” Tom Emswiler wrote in the Boston Globe.

State Sen. John Keenan has sponsored a bill to study the idea of switching time zones. The switch would put Massachusetts an hour ahead of neighboring states four months out of the year. The commonwealth would not take part in daylight saving time, making it the same time in Massachusetts as the rest of New England during tyhe spring and summer.

“Boston lies so far east in the Eastern Time Zone that during standard time, our earliest nightfall of the year is a mere 27 minutes later than in Anchorage,” a city known for its short winter days, Emswiler wrote.

Legislators were expected to hear testimony and consider the idea Tuesday.