Here is a copy of a letter I sent to Ralph Nader on 2004/02/28 regarding allow metric only labeling. If you want to send the same letter to Ralph Nader or others, feel free to do so.
The USA should speed its conversion to metric for a number of reasons and information about those reasons may be found at my website at http://www.xprt.net/~hightech/metric.htm . Of particular importance is the need to ammend the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) to allow Metric-Only Labeling by businesses who desire such for their products. There are many USA businesses, especially ones where exports are a huge portion of their business, who wish to discontinue mentioning the old fashioned (including US Customary Units) on their labels. In 10 years the EU will no longer allow imports to contain the imperial units (including US Customary Units) on the labels, even if the labels also indicate the metric units. Allowing USA businesses to use only metric units on their packages will make it easier for businesses to adjust when all of their exports to the EU require such labels. All USA schools (to my knowledge) have been teaching metric to their students for decades now and thus most people in the USA should be familiar with metric. However most people in the USA have not had much opportunity outside of school to make use of metric (except when they buy liters of soda pop and a few other consumer goods). Allowing metric only labeling on all consumer goods would make it easier for USA citizens to retain their knowledge of metric and ease the USA transistion to metric. I believe that many members of the U.S. Metric Association ( http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/ ) and even many businesses would likely support Ralph Nader for President if Ralph Nader campaigned on urging ammending the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) to allow Metric- Only Labeling. Some fans of metric had even planned on voting for Howard Dean because Howard Dean made a comment saying he is a fan of metric. Gavin Young http://www.xprt.net/~hightech , http://www.renewableelectricity.com, http://www.electric-automobile.com
