I watch Discovery and The Science Channel occasionally, and the fact that they
don't use SI is truly irritating, particularly in the case of The Science
Channel. TSC is re-running the old Cosmos series with Carl Sagan from the
1970s, and true to the spirit of those times, Carl dutifully used metric units.
But in a lot of their new shows today, they go out of their way to insert US
customary units instead. What I mean by going out of their way is re-dubbing
shows produced in Australia and Canada to have an American narrator change the
units, even when graphics being shown in the background from the original shows
use metric units. Or in the case of a show this weekend on Discovery about a
hotel that built from ice each year in northern Sweden, in which Swedish
workers stated temps in Fahrenheit, no-doubt after being coached to do so by
the producers.
Has USMA ever made an organized effort to petition TSC about this, perhaps in
conjunction with like-minded educational groups?
----- Original Message -----
From: STANLEY DOORE
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 2:21 PM
Subject: [USMA:40488] Discovery's Buillding environment & Science Channel
"Saving the Earth Inside the Office" article in the February 25
Washington Post tells how the Discovery Corporation is making its central
headquarters building here in Silver Spring environmentally friendly.
Discovery also is starting a Science TV channel.
Let's hope Discovery uses the SI as its PRIMARY system of units.
The Post article tells how Discovery will capture 400 gallons rain water
in each of three tanks for vegetation watering. It sounds like a lot of water;
however, 1200 gallons equals about 5.1 kL (cubic metres) of water which is not
much, but it's a start. To put this in perspective, a Potomac hydrologist
discovered during a drought here a couple of years ago that a single tree
drinks up to 100 gallons per day.
Remember that one millimetre (1 mm) of rain over one square metre equals
a litre of rain water. using the SI is ever so simple and meaningful.
Let's try to get Discovery to use the SI exclusively on its new science
TV Channel. The Science Channel will be broadcast worldwide.
Stan Doore
