The Times They are (not) A Changin'

[GordW]

In just over a month we come to that time when most of us used to move our clocks back to standard time (not all as Saskatchewan hasn't changed for decades, nor has the town of Atikokan, and I think there are some other exceptional places). HOwever this year will be different as BC, Alberta, and Manitoba have all decided (in Alberta despite a referendum in this decade voting the opposite way) to scrap the time change and stay on Daylight Savings Time all year round.

I have no objection to scrapping the time change. However it seems to me that all three provinces have got it backwards. I would far rather have the sunlight in the morning -- in fact at the height of summer (around the solstice) in northern latitudes it makes far more sense than having sunset so close to midnight. HEre in Grande Prairie, North-central Alberta, sunrise in December will be after 10am. I know lots of people complai about "going home when it is dark" in the winter but I really don't look forward to those late dark mornings. As one interview from MAnitoba I saw put it "elementary schools will be having their morning recess before it is truly light out".

But more than my personal preference, it seems the science agrees that standard time is better for our health, that morning light sets us up for the day.

In the end time is really a human construction, one we use for convenience. Theoretically we could adjust our activities to match the sun not the clock but realistically that would not likely work.

What do you think? Daylight Savings or STandard TIme? Keep the change?

 

[Mendalla]

Standard is my preference, too, but either way, getting rid of the change will make me a happy ape. As I age, I'm finding it having more and more impact on me. Unfortunately, Ontario's ending the change is conditional on Quebec and New York doing it due to the amount of business we do with them (kind of surprised MIchigan isn't in there, too, but whatever). New York (and the US as a whole) is discussing it. I have not heard that Quebec has anything happening and with them in the throes of an election, it won't happen until next year at the earliest.

Of course, that means that NW Ontario, which is in Central, will now be out of sync with both the rest of Ontario and Manitoba at times now that Manitoba is doing away with the time change.

 

[GordW]

Unfortunately, Ontario's ending the change is conditional on Quebec and New York doing it due to the amount of business we do with them (kind of surprised MIchigan isn't in there, too, but whatever). New York (and the US as a whole) is discussing it.

HOnestly I suspect the folk at Queen's PArk forget about trade with Michigan since it is so far West of Toronto. THen there is Wisconsin...

Technically (if you follow Sandford Fleming's plan) the time line should be much farther East than it currently is but Thunder Bay apparently had to be the same as TOronto. Atikokan will now be the same as Manitoba all year now as they were on Central Daylight/Eastern Standard all year round -- decades ago they could decide who they wanted to match with so they stopped changing altogether.

 

[Mendalla]

HOnestly I suspect the folk at Queen's PArk forget about trade with Michigan since it is so far West of Toronto.

True enough. We down here in the SW are more aligned with Michigan and Ohio than New York so are more aware of them, I guess.

I've mentioned this before, but China went the route of eliminating time zones altogether and just adjusting hours of work in different parts of the country (which ends up accomplishing kind of the same thing). They use Beijing time and don't have daylight time. So my wife's family are 13 hours ahead of us in standard time and 12 in daylight time. Which has been real fun when I have been there through the time change period. Leave on daylight time, come back on standard time sort of thing.

 

[Jaebius]

We don't do time change here in Korea. Things work remarkably well that way. Life has enough changes to go through

 

[Luce NDs]

Do you find that folk forget a great deal? Some even believe some great deals are something they are not!