Hmmm, maybe it's just the BBC's web site that still has this unpleasant
habit of adding Imperial much of the time (in parentheses).
Although, I have noticed (I think) that they seem to be doing somewhat less
of that even if articles that don't focus on science topics.
Ezra
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: [USMA:39982] A welcome example of "smarting up"
I would have been impressed with the Federal agency releasing the
amount of land in metric. But the Beeb? No...not impressed. They
report in near 100% metric anyway.
Quoting Ezra Steinberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
Dear USMA mailing list:
Too often we see shared on this list instances of information originally
given in metric units (from an organization or governmental body located
outside the USA) that is "dumbed down" (as many list members have put it)
to Imperial or US Customary units in news reports, magazine articles, etc
here in the States.
Tonight I was pleased to hear an instance of "smarting up". The BBC
(broadcast over our National Public Radio network) reported tonight that
a US Federal agency announced it was going to auction off concessions
for drilling for oil off the shore of Alaska. That was the sad part. The
positive part was that the announcer gave the size of the off-shore
drilling area in square kilometers only.
Clearly, the US Federal agency must have originally announced the size
in square miles. I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear that the BBC
had converted the area to metric and gave only that figure in their
reading of the news.
With continuing influence like that, there's hope for us yet, boys! ;-)
Cheers,
Ezra
