Daylight Saving Time: Benefit for the Past, Danger for the Present

Every Spring, Canadians set their clocks back an hour for the long-standing, and largely un-welcomed practice of daylight saving time (DST). Aside from the bother of losing an hour’s sleep, DST has been found to have serious effects on the economy, and the health of citizens. In the US alone, the detrimental effects DST has had on citizens’ health and productivity has cost the economy an estimated $434 million (The Huffington Post, 2013). While there have been efforts in recent years to eliminate DST, none have yet proven successful (Eggert, 2015). DST is really an out-dated practice that does more harm than good, and it is about time that it be scrapped.

DST was originally conceived by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 (Welsh, 2014). Franklin had observed that citizens used candles during the evenings and slept past dawn in the mornings (Welsh, 2014). His reasoning was that by shifting time by an hour during the summer months, people would burn fewer candles at night, and be able to take advantage of the early morning sunlight (Welsh, 2014). The practice was later used by the Germans during World War I as an energy-saving tactic for the war efforts; other countries eventually did the same (Handwerk, 2012).

The practice has since carried over, supposedly for the same purpose of energy conservation (Handwerk, 2012). While this original function made sense during the wartime efforts, it seems to be of little use today. Although in recent years, DST has reduced energy consumption in the evenings, this has been cancelled out by increased energy use in the mornings (Handwerk, 2012).

Furthermore, loss of sleep suffered during DST has been found to decrease productivity (Welsh, 2014). In the days following the spring forward, researchers have observed decreases in productivity and increases in “cyberloafing,” or employees idling by surfing the internet (Welsh, 2014). The results are, understandably, costly for the economy (The Huffington Post, 2013).

Perhaps the most frightening effects of DST, however, are the health risks. In the US alone, risk of heart attacks increases by 10 percent during the 2 days after clocks spring forward (Snyder, 2015). During the 2 days after clocks fall back, results were the opposite, with heart attack risks decreasing by 10 percent (Snyder, 2015).

Additionally, DST has increased car collisions and accident fatalities (Snyder, 2015). From 2005 to 2009, collisions in BC increased by a whole 23 percent during the Monday after the Spring time change (Martins, 2016). In Manitoba, the rate increased by 20 percent in Spring 2015 (Snyder, 2015). What’s worse, accident fatalities have increased by 5 to 7 percent during the 3 days following Spring DST (Snyder, 2015).

While daylight saving time served a valid purpose in the past, the practice does more harm than good today. Having proved detrimental to health and productivity, and in turn, the economy, it is about time this dated practice be kept in the past.

References

Eggert, P. (2015, March 9). Daylight saving time: Should it be abolished? Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/daylight-saving-time-should-it-be-abolished-1.2987517

Handwerk, B. (2012, October 31). Daylight saving time 2012 why and when does it end? Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/12/121031-daylight-savings-time-2012-when-does-fall-back-nation/

The Huffington Post. (2013, March 11). Daylight saving time may cost America $434 million from last sleep, index shows. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/10/daylight-saving-time-cost-financial-lost-sleep_n_2813799.html

Martins, D. (2016, March 12). Four terrible effects of Daylight Saving Time. Retrieved from http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/daylight-saving-time-facts/64663

Snyder, B. (2016, March 11). Debate over daylight time continues as most of Canada springs forward this weekend. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/daylight-saving-time-facts-figures-1.3485261

Snyder, B. (2015 October 31). End daylight saving time 2015: 6 eye-opening facts. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/end-of-daylight-saving-time-2015-6-eye-opening-facts-1.3296353

Welsh, J. (2014, March 7). Daylight saving time is bad for your health. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/economic-and-health-effects-of-daylight-saving-time-2014-3

Student Debt, a Burden For All

Today’s students are being forced to take on more student debt than any preceding generation (The Canadian Federation of Students [CSF], n.d.). Canada’s student debt has reportedly surpassed $15 billion, and is said to be rising by $1 million each day (CSF, n.d.). With student debt now being blamed for detrimental effects on students’ health, and the country’s economy, it is crucial that British Columbia eliminate high tuition costs.

The effects of student debt are not only severe, but also unnecessary. Eliminating high tuition costs would provide necessary relief on health and the economy. High student debt has already been linked to poorer psychological function, increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, and worse overall health among students (as cited in White, 2015). The burden student debt presents is also keeping graduates from being able to begin their post-academic lives on stable ground (Green Party of Canada, 2015). According to economist Amir Sufi, those with high student debt are less likely make large purchases, like houses or cars, which in turn greatly hurts the economy (Schwartz, 2015).

In Newfoundland, government funding makes up 85 percent of the province’s tuition fees, in comparison to the 55 percent in B.C. and the rest of the country (Taber, 2013). Although this doesn’t make tuition completely free, the results have nonetheless been extremely positive. More students now tend to stay in the province after graduation, rather than seeking foreign job markets to better pay off their debts (Taber, 2013). The same could happen for B.C.. With a lower student debt, fewer graduates would leave the province to find better jobs, allowing them to continue contributing to the local economy.

Although following a tuition-free model would be best, following the Newfoundland model would still make a huge difference for B.C.. Tuition fees are only going to rise, making the situation increasingly dire (Babbage, 2014). For the sake of the province’s economical prosperity, and the wellbeing of its residents, it is about time that B.C. cut tuition fees, or abolish them altogether.

References:

Babbage, M. (2015, September 9). Canadian university costs to soar, CCPA report says. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/10/tuition-fees-canada_n_5794590.html

The Canadian Federation of Students (n.d.). Student debt. Retrieved from http://cfs-fcee.ca/issues/student-debt/

Green Party of Canada (2015, September 16). Greens’ pledge to abolish tuition fees, invest in youth. Retrieved from http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2015-09-16/greens’-pledge-abolish-tuition-fees-invest-youth.

Schwartz, D. (2015, September 15). Back to school 2015: why student debt could be an issue in federal, U.S. elections. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-election-2015-student-debt-1.3214816

Taber, J. (2013, September 13). Newfoundland reaps rewards of low-tuition strategy. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/newfoundland-reaps-rewards-of-low-tuition-strategy/article14324686/

White, G. (2015, February 2). The mental and physical toll of student loans. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/02/the-mental-and-physical-toll-of-student-loans/385032/

Atwood Analysis

Atwood’s piece addresses the concept of rewarding online users for the number of posts they make. He points out that when there’s a number associated with someone’s name (in this case, a user’s post count), the obvious desire is to make that number increase. This is an issue, because when it comes to having healthy discussions, listening (reading) is more important than talking (commenting).

Atwood begins the article by drawing attention to the Facebook post tally, before pointing out why this number is a problem. This creates interest, as almost everyone is familiar with this number, and focusing on it the way Atwood does makes the reader wonder what’s wrong about it.

Atwood then backs up his argument by giving examples that illustrate just how few users actually read articles in their entirety. While strongly supporting his point, these examples also make the reader question their own online participation. Allowing the reader to see their own behavior commented on in the article proves powerful.

Atwood’s proposed solutions include having more blogs enable endless scrolling, as having to click through multiple pages is too tedious for most readers. Simply having to continue scrolling, however, is far more attractive. His most notable solution, though, is to reward users for how much they read, rather than how much they post. The idea is that this will discourage users from skimming over a topic and heading straight for the comments section to make under-informed posts.