Editor:
We saw some beautiful sunrises earlier this month. shortly after 7:30 a.m. Sunsets were equally glorious, coming at about 4 p.m.
However, I can’t help but think how much darker this winter would have been for people heading to work for 8:30 a.m. — not to mention kids heading to school — if we hadn’t all turned our clocks back earlier this fall.
Had the provincial government gone ahead with its plans to eliminate the fall time change, most people would be heading to work or school entirely in the dark from late November to early February. (You can check out sunrise and sunset times for Kamloops yourself online at timeanddate.com.)
And for those who work until 5 p.m. or later, the only chance to see the sun at all on work days might be during a lunch hour walk.
We all find the time change trying, but those twice-annual clock adjustments might be preferable to living with no sunlight at all on winter mornings.
One way to solve this problem, you might be thinking, would be to leave the clocks at their current settings year-round.
However, this option for avoiding the time change also has a significant drawback — unbearably early sunrises in the summer months.
I shudder to think of tent camping in July, with the sun rising at 4 a.m. For those with small children, the 5 a.m. summer wake-up times are probably early enough.
One way or another, if the province decides to go ahead with eliminating the time change, it might be a good time to invest in either solar lamps or blackout blinds.
Nichole Rae
Kamloops
