As someone who used to work at EIA, I'd say it may be better to send such comments to EIA's Office of Statistical Standards. They have the lead on such matters. See http://www.eia.doe.gov/contacts/methods.htm. Ralph Gillmann Federal Highway Administration -------------------------Forwarded------------------------ From: hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]" To: hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]" cc: hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]", hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]", hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]", hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]", hubsmtp.gwhub:"[EMAIL PROTECTED]" Subject: [USMA:14586] Units used on EIA web pages Dear Ms. Battles, I'm going nuts trying to glean the information I need from your EIA web pages. It's a real chore involving conversion tables and a calculator everytime I want to look something up and comprehend it in SI units of measure. Until I convert your data to SI, I cannot compare information across the energy content of fuels (BTU, therm, kWh), production amounts (tons, pounds, barrels, cubic feet), or location (the U.S., the rest of the world). All of this was supposed to have been fixed as a result of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 amendments to the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 and Executive Order 12770, "Metric Usage in Federal Government Programs" (1991). When is the Department of Energy going to complete their metrication as required by these references? I know better than to believe that we need to wait for the various industries to do this. Obviously they won't provide the data in SI form until the federal government (that's you!) requires it. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if my agents in Washington (you again!) would do the conversions prior to posting the data. I happen to be capable of doing the conversions, though it slows my work down tremendously, but what about normal Americans? How can they make any fair comparisons when every category uses its own arcane units? And please don't tell me that Americans understand TBTU/BB better than they understand J/kg. Have mercy on us, please! When can we expect to see your data in SI form? What are you telling the President about your progress in your annual report via the Department of Commerce? regards, James R. Frysinger -- James R. Frysinger University/College of Charleston 10 Captiva Row Dept. of Physics and Astronomy Charleston, SC 29407 66 George Street 843.225.0805 Charleston, SC 29424 http://www.cofc.edu/~frysingj [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cert. Adv. Metrication Specialist 843.953.7644
