That dreaded time of the year again begins tonight … Daylight Savings. An archaic and unnecessary disruption imposed on the population just for an extra hour of evening daylight. In a country with a high rate of skin cancer, more exposure to strong afternoon sunlight is definitely not needed. DS is a real annoyance for those who rise early as the mornings become dark, and having to get up earlier results in feeling continually jetlagged. It is also disruptive to domestic animals – they can’t be told why everything is suddenly happening an hour earlier. Even worse, in Victoria DS is now extended over 6 months of the year (October to early April). This thread on the topic at the Whirlpool forum gives an example of some of the inane comments by those who think they are being funny (the “faded curtains” joke stopped being humorous a long time ago, and anyone posting “LOL” deserves a punch in the face – the older I get, the less tolerance for stupid comments I have). If I were in charge I would have DS abolished permanently, and those who objected would just have to suck it up.
Ideally societies would just follow the natural rhythm of the seasons, getting up at dawn and going to bed at sunset (humans are diurnal), but modern life with its clocks and artificial lighting have long disrupted that.
