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Time we ditched the time change

Daylight saving time is a holdover from a different era and should be abolished.

Its original purpose is not unlike the reason why so many North American churches – at least until a few years ago – began their Sunday service at 11 a.m. It was to give congregants enough time to milk the cows – but that was centuries ago. The reason for that practicality has long disappeared.

Distroscale

So it is with changing the clocks. At one time, there were some good reasons for the establishment of daylight saving time, but those reasons don’t carry as much weight today. The original purpose was to take advantage of the daylight as it lengthened during the spring months, particularly for a mostly rural and agrarian society.

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More recently, the rationale for using DST has been to reduce or control energy consumption. The U.S. adopted year-round DST for a few years during the Energy Crisis of the mid-1970s. But that edict sparked some chaos. Children were being bused to school in total darkness, for example.

And there was confusion in Canada because we didn’t follow the same path. During the winter months when Canadians reverted to standard time, there was a one-hour difference between the two nations.

The surprising thing about DST is that nobody really complained about its existence until 2007 when it was extended into November. That happened after the U.S. Congress looked into the possibility.

Since then there has been a growing public debate about the merit of even having DST.

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In 2008, another congressional investigation determined that energy savings because of DST were minimal.

We would do better to go without the momentary confusion that occurs twice a year when our schedule is altered to accommodate the amount of daylight we’re receiving. But it must be a continental effort. It’s foolish for the U.S. to adopt one system, and for Canada to follow another.

It’s interesting to note that much of the planet doesn’t observe daylight saving time. They’ve learned to live with standard time year-round. Granted, most of those countries are nearer to the equator, and thus the argument over daylight variation is diminished.

But even in Europe talk about ditching DST has gained enough traction that 2019 might be the last year for the time change. Most members of the EU will be pushing their clocks ahead on March 28, but when they return to standard time on Oct. 27, it could be permanent.

There seems to be little value in hanging onto DST, except out of habit.

Just as most people don’t milk cows anymore, times change.

– Peter Epp

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