Ever wondered why we live in a different time zone to the rest of the continent? Well so do a bunch of environmentalists, who are calling upon MPs to align the UK with mainland Europe.
Tim Yeo, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, has put forward a bill to Parliament that could trim the amount of carbon emissions we produce as a nation as well as reduce the amount of traffic accidents that take place.
What’s more, the MP for Suffolk South has the backing of scientists at Cambridge University, who believe a three-year experiment to assess the benefits of abandoning Greenwich mean time and setting clocks an hour forward all year round would do the UK more good than harm.
MPs will congregate tomorrow in Westminster to vote on the suggestion.
Scientists predict the UK would save around £485 million each year by using less lights in the afternoon and evening, which is a consumption drop of around 170,000 tonnes of CO2 a year, or the equivalent annual emissions of 70,000 Britons. More natural light would also no doubt reduce accidents because of better visibility.
It’s not the first time the clocks have been changed. Britain first attempted to abandon GMT in 1968 but protests from early rising farmers meant the old system was reintroduced in 1971.
