I feel the need to rant about the total misuse of EST when EDT is the correct way to state the time when daylight saving time is in effect. This peeve was passed down to me by my step-father, Col. Edward M. Geary because he retired to Arizona in 1969, a state that does not observe the energy saving bill enacted by the Federal Government. Arizona is one of those states where it is just not cost effective to have the sun set in July around 9PM when temps are in the triple digits. So, lucky for those folks who don’t have to change clocks twice a year or deal with getting up an hour earlier, etc.
But here’s the real issue with Arizonans, and any other district that does not observe daylight saving time. They have to calculate how many hours they are away from the other time zones. In the winter months, when the country is on Standard Time, it’s a 2 hour difference, but in the summer, it’s 3 hours.
Earlier this week, I was invited to join a teleseminar at 6PM MST. I contacted the facilitator to confirm the time, “are you in Arizona? Because if you’re not, then it’s really MDT, and I’d be an hour late to your course, because I AM on MST.” The woman dismissed my question, and said, “no, I’m in Denver, and the course starts at 6. Will you be joining us?” (yes, but I guess at 5 MST if I want to be on time)
Using EST, MST, CST, or PST when daylight saving time is in effect displays to the rest of the world either laziness or ignorance. If it’s too much information to remember, then just state Eastern time, etc. without the Standard or Daylight in the middle of it. No one will diss you for that.
One further note. Many people incorrectly call it Daylight Savings Time. The correct term is Daylight Saving Time because it is a verbal adjective (a participle) that modifies “time.”
–Susan Geary, CERW / 1st Rate Resumes