Kemerovo region votes against DST

Paul Eggert eggert at CS.UCLA.EDU
Thu Mar 29 18:55:47 UTC 2007


RIA Novosti reported yesterday that the Kemerovo Region parliamant has
voted to appeal to the Russian government to abolish DST, and Nikolai
Gerasimenko, Russia's deputy chair of the State Duma's Health
Protection Committee, agrees with them.  See
<http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070328/62754276.html>.  The MPs claim that
DST is harmful to human health, as it may lead to chronic diseases,
harm the immune system, increase mortality rate and risks for
hypertensive patients.  None of these reported health problems have
been investigated scientifically as far as I know.

Russia's electricity monopoly said that in 2007 DST saved Russia 2 GWh
of electricity, but Gersimenko says the overall economic advantage of
DST isn't proven.

This reminds me of the successful compaign to abolish DST in
Kazakhstan, which was based on the harmful health effects due to clock
changes, including "insomnia, spikes in blood pressure, endocrinal
deviations and the exacerbation of chronic diseases"
<http://www.kazsociety.org.uk/news/2005/03/30.htm>.



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