Daylight Savings Time: Time for a change?

For around 100 years nations all over the world have been shifting the clocks back and forth one hour. There have been tinkering around the edges too. Some folks like the clocks going forward and back for a little extra light, others are not so keen. A good deal of the history of putting the clocks back and forward in spring and summer comes from World War 1 largely, I understand, to save fuel.

In 1972 Daylight Savings Time came in for Alberta offering an extra hour of sunshine (hopefully) for summer evenings.

Now, Edmonton-SouthWest MLA, Thomas Dang has proposed a private member’s bill that would do away with Daylight Savings Time and synchronise with Saskatchewan’s central time, year-round instead, and be known as Alberta standard time. In December, we could expect the sun to rise around 10 a.m.

Dang has reported that he has received positive support from 82 per cent of respondents to a survey on the matter.

Aside from people’s personal choice some science has been done regarding the effects of resetting people’s body clocks. Children can have difficulties in adjusting to the new time, there have been suggestions that heart attacks are more of a risk and animals have problems adjusting too with, for example, new feeding and milking schedules.

From my own standpoint as a long-term commuter I think I would really prefer a year-round time. Living in a rural area with an hour-long bus trip to school my kids agree too. If our dogs could talk I expect them to concur. They are always puzzled for weeks when feeding and walk times shift.

I appreciate that darker mornings can be an issue with traveling, especially school buses. Here’s a thought though. We already have a long holiday in December. Why not extend it to take some of the worst of the December light issues away? I would also be willing to bet that our flu season may prove to be shorter and less severe too if the schools were shut for longer over the Christmas holidays.

If you have a strong view on the topic, why not drop us a line at mcleodriverpost@gmail.com .