The Hindu : International : Bill to scrap GMT

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Friday, Jan 26, 2007
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International

International

Bill to scrap GMT

LONDON: Britain should abandon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and align its watches with central Europe, according to researchers who claim the switch would trim greenhouse gas emissions and reduce road accidents. Scientists at Cambridge University assessed the impact of adopting central European time ahead of a parliamentary vote on the issue, put forward in a bill by Tim Yeo, Conservative chairman of the House of Commons environmental audit committee. The bill proposes that Britain ditch GMT for three years to test the impact of setting clocks forward an hour all year round. Arguments for abandoning GMT have been made by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which estimates that nearly 5,000 persons have died on British roads in the past 35 years because of a rise in accidents that coincides with clocks going back in the autumn. A rough assessment reported in the journal Nature shows that by aligning clocks with Europe, Britain is likely to save around £485 million each year by using lights less in the afternoon and evening. The drop in energy consumption would trim carbon dioxide emissions by 170,000 tonnes.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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