Time to Spring Forward into Daylight Saving Time

Saturday, March 07, 2009 07:00 AM

Prince George, B.C. - It’s time to “Spring Forward” as we head into Daylight Saving Time this weekend.

In B.C. there are a couple of exceptions to the norm, namely the Peace River region, which does not observe daylight saving time. The East Kootenay region observes mountain time, and they will continue to synchronize their clocks with Alberta.

For the rest of us, before you hit the sack tonight, or at 2:00 am Sunday morning, it’s time to move the clocks AHEAD one hour.

This early change to Daylight Saving Time has been in effect since March of 2007. This round of Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 1, when we’ll set the clocks back again. Spring Forward, - Fall Back!

Here are some little-known facts about Daylight Saving Time:

Don’t say Daylight Savings Time if you know what’s good for you. There’s officially no “S” — but according to Google, most people add it anyway.
According to researchers in Finland, DST has mixed effects on people’s health. Sleeping patterns are disturbed, more so with night owls than morning folk. Another study found a spike in heart attacks during the first week of DST, leading experts to believe that the loss of sleep makes some people more susceptible. When Daylight Saving Time ends in the fall, heart attacks briefly become less frequent than normal.
Because people drive more safely during the daylight, researchers found that DST reduces fatal car crashes. One study concluded that year-round DST would prevent 195 deaths of people in cars and 171 pedestrian fatalities.
DST came about in WWI, as an effort to conserve fuel. The theory was that more daylight reduces the use of artificial light. DST’s effect on energy use has changed over time and varies from place to place — experts disagree about whether it really saves energy.

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Posted on Saturday, March 07, 2009 07:00 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: dan on March 7 2009 7:47 AM

I do not like it. And wish they would just leave the clock alone.

Does it change the amount of time there is light in the day?

The sun will still rise and set regardless.

Posted by: giterdun on March 7 2009 8:27 AM

Why do we do this. It is a total waist of money,especially for those businesses that have scheduals with other time zones. Total stupidity. We should press our polititions to abolish it.

Posted by: He speaks on March 7 2009 10:45 AM

I think we are passed the point of the purpose of Daylight Savings Time. Wow, it is now close to 100 years since it was introduced, to save electricity.

Lets get rid of it.

Posted by: metalman on March 7 2009 4:34 PM

I agree, the disruption to our sleep cycle is unwelcome, and un-necessary.
metalman.

Posted by: Honestjoe on March 7 2009 4:39 PM

Stay on Standard Time. Leave the clocks alone.

Posted by: gus on March 7 2009 5:51 PM

"Wow, it is now close to 100 years since it was introduced, to save electricity."

Who in their right mind would ever want to save electricity these days. A stupid idea if I ever heard one.

BTW, you know, I assume, that this is an international issue. Some change, some do not. Synchronizing with the rest of the world remains a problem unless everyone were to stop changing time with the seasons.

I think we should all just be on the same time. Who cares about the zones. Everyone start off January 1, 2010 with it being Friday, 12:01 UTC after midnight everywhere in the world.

That would mean that in BC many people would go to work at 4pm (16:00hrs) or our current 8am and leave work at midnight, or (0:00 hrs) our current 4pm.

When speaking to someone in England, China, Jerusalem, etc. one would then be able to talk about business hours on the same scale, not an adjusted scale.

It would drive some people batty, to be sure. But it would be much simpler. China, as I understand it, has one time zone. UTC+8 wich is China Standard time or Beijing time.

Posted by: socredible on March 7 2009 10:58 PM

Scrap it. It's a useless nuisance. Saskatchewan doesn't have it, and they seem to get on just fine.

Posted by: kitkat on March 8 2009 12:04 AM

It should be abolished. Like someone said - the sun rises and sets just like it always has.
I have yet to meet anyone who thinks this is a good idea.

Posted by: gus on March 8 2009 12:41 AM

Getting rid of it is easy. Don't change your clock. Just show up an hour earlier for a few months.

Posted by: NMG on March 8 2009 12:26 PM

I agree with everyone. Scrap it, it's just plain stupid.

Posted by: gus on March 8 2009 12:55 PM

Enjoy!!! make sure you read the letters below the article.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1079/whats-the-purpose-of-daylight-saving-time

Posted by: heidi1555 on March 8 2009 8:01 PM

here's an article a contact posted on twitter....
I didn't read the whole thing..started to fall asleep but might interest some of you.

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2008/11/spring_forward_fall_back_shoul.php

Posted by: dogs on March 8 2009 8:04 PM

Great more day light- I just love it.

Posted by: gus on March 8 2009 11:28 PM

Circadian cycle. I have been completely screwed up since grade school since I was born in a time zone 9 hours removed from this one, spent much of my youth and early adulthood in a time zone 3 hours removed from this one and often travellled for short periods of time into timezones within those three.

Just think of the poor shift workers. Just think of those of us living in a part of the world where there is a considerable shift between the amount of daylight throughout the year as opposed to those living near the equator. Then we have those in the far north as well as south (although there is not that much of a land mass there for people to live on) living with even a larger fluctuation of daylight cyles.

The human machine is a very adaptable one. After many decades of changing clocks in the fall and spring, many of us could end up with a heart attack if we were to stop doing this.