To the Editor:
I was interested in reading a recent letter to the editor (“Daylight time could offer health benefits”) extolling the virtues of daylight time. It’s interesting to note that an equally compelling case can be made for not following daylight time. There are many reasons for not bothering to change time when it isn’t necessary; these are simple facts to be considered.
I am delighted that environmentally and conservation-minded people of the area have picked up on these facts because they care for a healthier lifestyle, the real reason and benefit for not changing to daylight time. Some relevant facts seem to have been long forgotten by Creston and area, so here is a short history lesson.
Daylight time has existed since the earth began to revolve around the sun and turn on its axis. This created portions of daylight and nighttime, depending on the seasons as regulated by the laws of physics.
Then came electricity. The word electricity is from the New Latin electricus (“amber-like”), coined in 1600 from the Greek electron meaning amber, because electrical effects were produced classically by rubbing amber.
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and flow of electric charge. Electricity gives a wide variety of well-known effects, such as lightning, static electricity, electromagnetic induction and the flow of electrical current. Practical applications for electricity, however, remained few, and it would not be until the late 19th century that engineers were able to put it to industrial and residential use. Electricity’s extraordinary versatility as a means of providing energy means it can be put to an almost limitless set of applications, which include transport, heating, lighting, communications and computation. Electrical power is the backbone of modern industrial society.
When electricity reached widespread use the late 19th century, it altered many behaviours. In particular, it allowed people to stay indoors for work or go outside and enjoy the daylight hours, since now the indoor chores could be done at a later time. Over the course of time, this previously unheard of option proved to be so successful that many people were delighted to avail themselves of it throughout all of the months of the year.
Although I have not found any studies on the health benefits, they could only be positive as more time in the evenings is spent on outdoor activities like playing ball, golf, any outdoor sport, fishing, cycling, gardening or sitting around a campfire. Even if you’re not an outdoor person, these extra daylight hours are available when you are using electricity.
In eight months, this adds up to 240 hours of being active rather than sitting in front of a TV, computer or even reading a book, all through the use of electricity, thus having a positive impact on our bodies. The winter days are short enough and now you are able to spend all of the daylight hours outdoors, just as in the summer days.
Perhaps, instead of daylight time it should be renamed energy daylight time. Think about it, folks. It’s your money and your body. I would even go so far as to say it could have an impact on health care costs! Let’s get out and enjoy those beautiful summer evenings for an extra hour and not be guided by the clock or time zones, but be guided by looking out your window instead.
Creston