> So, given that the government is unlikely to do this, what would it take > for the USMA to do it? Business. If the majority of the US business community gets involved, they can start lobbying the government to create an environment that's more hospitable to the implementation of the metric system. Metric can be sold to US business from a variety of angles: increased efficiency, long-term savings, global trade standard, etc. They need to be made aware just how good metric is for business.
At this point, without even waiting for the FPLA to be amended, US consumer goods manufacturers can go metric in areas where the size of the container/package has no apparent relevance to the consumer. The examples are countless, but for instance, juices, yogurt, ice-cream, soap, laundry detergent, dish soaps, etc. I'm seeing this a bit with the first item, juices, where Tropicana has already two types of 1.75L containers on the market, and while they're often referred to as 59oz, I occasionally see them referred to in the metric size only. > Look at groups like anti-smoking. They had a cause, the goverment was > really not interested, they pushed it publically and the goverment > joined in. Maybe if we start, the goverment will follow. There was a neat segment on NPR about how the estate tax got blown out of proportion from a non-issue, to the now famous "death tax." If I recall correctly, it took a couple of lawyers 10 years to turn it that way. > The other thing to do is citizens initiated refferendums. I know some > states don't have them, but perhapse that could be used to force a move > in the states that do. Of couse, if we go this route, we'll _have_ to do > the public service campaign so people don't go the "I don't understand > it therefore I'm not voting for it" route. I'd rather have the Feds go to it, or have the business communitty get on the government's case and push this through. Otherwise we'll end up in a situation where several states have gone metric, the rest hasn't, and we'd have ourselves a very "American mess." Remek
