I don't want to get into the political, since metrication should not be political - but in this country it IS political and we can't really deny it, because the choices have always been influenced by politics:
- the voluntary nature of the conversion in the 1975 legislation
- the appointment by Jimmy Carter of both proponents and opponents to the US Metric Board in 1977
- the defunding of the Board by Ronald Reagan in 1982
- the zinger thrown in by that Congressman into the highway funding leglislation in the late 1990's that pretty much singlehandedly ended all highway construction metrication
Only when one of the two political parties decides to make metrication a priority, and actually push for it effectively, will it happen. Fat chance in today's political climate.
Carleton
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From: "Mike Millet" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I'm glad to see South Korea doing it. I do find it unlikely that once FPLA amendments pass the government will take any sort of active role in metrication and mandate anything though. After all, federal government agencies which should have been switched long ago are still doling out projects in inch-foot-pound measures in clear violation of their own directives. The only way I see it happening in the US is making conversion voluntary and only mandating SI units after a long period of voluntary has gone through. If voluntary labeling goes through by 2010 (which hopefully it will) I would foresee a ten year or so period of long use in the commercial sector before government would actually start mandating switches in other areas. That's not the way we all hope it will go but ! it is a possibility.
As an example , I was talking recently with a friend who works for the state government and he mentioned that Idaho as a state is officially dropping all use of SI for all state funded projects and switching back to US Customary. The main reason he gave was that even federal government agencies were still handing out drawings in USC and providing bids in USC, as well as an extreme level of distaste among the higher ups in the various state agencies towards the use of SI. He personally is a little annoyed that he has to relearn all his measurements but not enough to do anything about it or as he put it "rock the boat" :).
Hopefully we'll see a strong effort on the part of the government as it listens to those of us who are for conversion and we don't have to drag it out, but getting Americans to do anything has always proved problematic :).
On 10/22/06, Paul Armstrong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Looks like Korea has finally had enough of non-SI units:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200610/kt2006102220054910510.htm
And for those wondering if the USA can clean up by 2010,
Korean retailers are being given less than a year....
Paul
--
"The boy is dangerous, they all sense it why can't you?"
