Norm Werling (formerly a subscriber here) asked me to post this for him. The web site he discusses is at http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/windchill/Windchill_fact_sheet_Aug_10_e.cfm he tells me. Jim
> Dear Mr. Tew ( NOAA) > > I am a 65 year old (almost 66) American citizen who finds it to be > incredible that our country continues to resist use of the subject system in > its everyday life. > > I am pleased that your web site acknowledges that the new Wind Child > determinations were developed in partnership with Canada. I truly wonder if > Canada may have actually developed them and if the U.S. National Weather > Service is simply utilizing them. > > As you are well aware, Canada does report using SI. I am certain that the > work you do internally is also done in SI but then you regress and convert > everything into the old and antiquated measures of miles per hour and > degrees Fahrenheit whereas Canada and all of the rest of the world reports > in SI using kilometers/hour and degrees Celsius. > > There have been numerous laws promulgated by Congress plus Presidential > findings that SI is the preferred method of measure in the United States. > > This is one area in which it seems to me that a complete change to SI by > the U.S. National Weather Service could be accomplished with ease and > virtually without cost. Your agency could be the leader in helping > Americans to modernize by reporting in SI. > > I am certain about my feelings because on many occasions I have written to > reporters at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when they write articles about > the weather and climate. They acknowledge that they are directed by editors > to convert tables and data from km/h and from �C as they prepare the > articles. Without exception these younger reporters have always agreed with > me that we should report in SI but their older editors are still stuck in > their time warp. > > I am writing to you at your email address because it is the only one I have > been able to find. Please forward this to any and all responsible persons > who could urge, direct and implement this change to reporting in SI. > > It is becoming increasingly preposterous that the world's only so-called > superpower clings to antiquated non-SI (i.e. non-metric) measures. If this > change to SI fails to occur within my rapidly disappearing lifetime, I will > be sorely disappointed. It seems that the U.S. must be resisting this > logical action out of some stubborn sense of spite, possibly disguised as > some sense of patriotism, which is and will be proved to be a huge mistake. > > It must be costing us money to make the conversions from internal use of SI. > If you are not using SI internally, I question your agency's good sense. > All reason directs us to make the change now. > > Sincerely, > > Norman Werling > 1240 Hunters Drive > Stone Mountain, GA 30083-2545 > 404-292-9328 >
