Well then, the results of the Daylight Savings referendum is in and Perth has voted a resounding 'No' to daylight savings 55% against and 45% for. I believe this is the fourth referendum where the daylight savings bill has been blocked. For the life of me I can't understand why Perth continue to have this backward, self defeatist attitude towards an issue long adopted by others around the world as logical and beneficial. Look at how we view Sunday shopping, extended retail hours, high rise development etc. etc.
Now almost every man and his dog in Perth has an opinion on daylight savings and it ranges from the effects daylight savings have on the stock market, on cows, on children, on crime, on road accidents etc etc. I heard it all. Most are illogical arguments but that's what an emotive subject can do to you. You spew crap just to win an argument you feel you must win. Well I'm no different, though I would like to stick to more scientific facts. Here's my take on this.
Now like a respectable writer, I did some research on this via a meteorological website and found the following data for the summer months of Dec- March.
Month Sun rise Sun set (add one hour if daylight savings applied)
Dec 5.04 19.18
Jan 6.25 20.26
Feb 6.54 20.06
Mar 7.16 19.35
and winter months:
Month Sun rise Sun set
Jun 7.14 17.19
July 7.15 17.19
Aug 6.53 17.49
The above times are sun rise and sun set times for the summer and winter months. Note, March is not an official summer month but would be included as a daylight savings month in the referendum, though some say if daylight savings were adopted, they would move to have it removed. Also the times stated are data taken for the fifteenth day of every month e.g. 15 Jan, 15 Feb etc. and lastly, the times shown above are non daylight savings times and you would need to add one hour to the summer months if daylight savings were to apply.
The reason why I went through the trouble to get this data is because as they say the numbers never lie (but people do). From the data above, it is plain and obvious, we have more sunlight during summer and less sunlight during winter and I believe our clocks should reflect this.
Let's take a look at the sunrise times. During the summer months, apart from March the sunrise times are anywhere between 2 hours plus to 20 minutes earlier than the winter months. Those that argue that if daylight savings applied, they would be running in the dark! What the data shows us, is even if one hour was added to the summer times shown, they would not be too far off the winter months sunrise times, so they should be complaining about running in the dark in the winter months as well. By adopting daylight savings, this effectively maintains the status quo. Imagine if there was no daylight savings as shown in the times above, the sun would rise at 5.04 (for December)! Most would be sleeping at this time and those saying they would be running in the dark are just kidding themselves. In fact, some nocturnal beings would be turning in for the night at this time. So my view is that there is no point of having daylight at a time when most people are in bed sleeping. If you want to use the children argument, then you could argue that the sunlight would wake your children up and they in turn will wake you up at 5 in the morning! Great! Who wouldn't like to wake up at 5 in the morning.
Since the daylight hours are longer during summer, I say take full advantage and shift it to the more productive evenings where quality time is hard to come by after work. Nowadays, when people are working from dusk to dawn, adding an additional one hour of sunlight in the evenings would do wonders. Quality time spent with the family outdoors and outdoor works around the house can be done even after work if daylight savings were adopted. Those finishing work in the late evenings and taking public transport could get a safer passage home as they find their journey home under the security of daylight. Whatever the reason, the effect is having more hours to do more outdoor activities in the evenings, whatever they may be.
Anyway, I'll keep my article short, as Perth has voted and it's too late to make anykind of stance right now. We might have to wait another few decades before the mindset of Perth changes and progress with the times. I hope I'll be around to see it, but I won't hold my breath.
Now almost every man and his dog in Perth has an opinion on daylight savings and it ranges from the effects daylight savings have on the stock market, on cows, on children, on crime, on road accidents etc etc. I heard it all. Most are illogical arguments but that's what an emotive subject can do to you. You spew crap just to win an argument you feel you must win. Well I'm no different, though I would like to stick to more scientific facts. Here's my take on this.
Now like a respectable writer, I did some research on this via a meteorological website and found the following data for the summer months of Dec- March.
Month Sun rise Sun set (add one hour if daylight savings applied)
Dec 5.04 19.18
Jan 6.25 20.26
Feb 6.54 20.06
Mar 7.16 19.35
and winter months:
Month Sun rise Sun set
Jun 7.14 17.19
July 7.15 17.19
Aug 6.53 17.49
The above times are sun rise and sun set times for the summer and winter months. Note, March is not an official summer month but would be included as a daylight savings month in the referendum, though some say if daylight savings were adopted, they would move to have it removed. Also the times stated are data taken for the fifteenth day of every month e.g. 15 Jan, 15 Feb etc. and lastly, the times shown above are non daylight savings times and you would need to add one hour to the summer months if daylight savings were to apply.
The reason why I went through the trouble to get this data is because as they say the numbers never lie (but people do). From the data above, it is plain and obvious, we have more sunlight during summer and less sunlight during winter and I believe our clocks should reflect this.
Let's take a look at the sunrise times. During the summer months, apart from March the sunrise times are anywhere between 2 hours plus to 20 minutes earlier than the winter months. Those that argue that if daylight savings applied, they would be running in the dark! What the data shows us, is even if one hour was added to the summer times shown, they would not be too far off the winter months sunrise times, so they should be complaining about running in the dark in the winter months as well. By adopting daylight savings, this effectively maintains the status quo. Imagine if there was no daylight savings as shown in the times above, the sun would rise at 5.04 (for December)! Most would be sleeping at this time and those saying they would be running in the dark are just kidding themselves. In fact, some nocturnal beings would be turning in for the night at this time. So my view is that there is no point of having daylight at a time when most people are in bed sleeping. If you want to use the children argument, then you could argue that the sunlight would wake your children up and they in turn will wake you up at 5 in the morning! Great! Who wouldn't like to wake up at 5 in the morning.
Since the daylight hours are longer during summer, I say take full advantage and shift it to the more productive evenings where quality time is hard to come by after work. Nowadays, when people are working from dusk to dawn, adding an additional one hour of sunlight in the evenings would do wonders. Quality time spent with the family outdoors and outdoor works around the house can be done even after work if daylight savings were adopted. Those finishing work in the late evenings and taking public transport could get a safer passage home as they find their journey home under the security of daylight. Whatever the reason, the effect is having more hours to do more outdoor activities in the evenings, whatever they may be.
Anyway, I'll keep my article short, as Perth has voted and it's too late to make anykind of stance right now. We might have to wait another few decades before the mindset of Perth changes and progress with the times. I hope I'll be around to see it, but I won't hold my breath.
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