A couple of decades on, with increased use of renewable energy and more energy-efficient products, the case for using seasonal clock changes to save energy is harder to make. The EU only introduced legislation to unify the practice of seasonal clock changes across the continent in 1996. The UK and France soon followed and the idea has taken hold in Europe and much of North America ever since, but is almost unheard of in Oceania, the Middle East and South America and not used at all in Africa or east Asia. Less energy used on lighting homes and businesses, it was argued, meant more energy for winning the war. The idea first came up during the First World War when the German Empire turned the clocks ahead by one hour in April 1916 to preserve energy use from artificial lighting. The very notion of seasonal clock changes is a thoroughly modern phenomenon – and it has more to do with saving energy than making people healthier or more productive. It isn’t clear why this is the case, but it could be down to sleep deprivation and other biological responses to the slight change in time zone. A 2012 study from the University of Alabama found that when the clocks move forward in March that there is a ten per cent increase in the risk of having a heart attack. The clamour to do away with seasonal clock changes in the European Union is based on some solid science. An Irish government spokesperson said this would not be happening and that it would be switching back to GMT as normal on October 25. In Ireland, the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Róisín Shortall, has also proposed ditching the switch back to GMT as a one-off measure to help with the strain caused by the pandemic. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which, as the name suggests, campaigns for changes in legislation to reduce accidents, has floated the idea of ditching daylight savings in the UK to give struggling businesses a little extra help. Just as the pandemic has put the brakes on Europe-wide action, some have called for a temporary pause on daylight savings as a result of the pandemic. With the Covid-19 pandemic still raging, the complicated business of unpicking Europe’s time zones is unlikely to be put back on the agenda in 2021. No further progress has been made on ditching seasonal clock changes across the EU since the issue was last raised in December of 2019. The switch moved Samoans closer to Australia and New Zealand, where more than 200,000 expatriates now live.īut, for now, such issues are far from a priority. Further afield, the Pacific island nation of Samoa moved itself across the international date line in December 2011, jumping forward an entire day and erasing Decemfrom its calendar. Despite being on the very western edge of Europe, Iceland observes UTC year-round, bringing it closer to its distant neighbours. In November 2015, the Metlakatla Indian Community moved from PST to Alaska Standard Time (AKST).Such decisions can have a big impact. Parts of the Aleutian Islands in the far west of the state switch between Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HAST) and Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time (HADT) When DST is in force, clocks in Alaska are 8 hours behind UTC. Today most of the state, including the capital, Juneau, uses Alaska Standard Time (AKST). In 2010 a bill to remove DST in Alaska was defeated in the Alaska State Senate. Protests from Businessesīoth businesses and the tourism industry in Alaska have protested against the change, claiming that fewer daylight hours will have a negative effect on their business.Īlaskans have a history of opposing DST. Department of Transportation to give its stamp of approval. The original bill was passed in March last year.įor the change to take effect Senate Bill 6 needs to be approved in the House Finance Committee, the full House, and the Senate. The House State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 6 on Thursday, April 7, 2016. Same as California and WashingtonĪ change would put Alaska on the same time as California and Washington in the winter months. The bill proposes to shift the entire state of Alaska from its current 2 time zones to Pacific Standard Time (PST) and eliminating Daylight Saving Time (DST). Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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