Re: pipes and plywood, I would rate the relative importance of areas to
switch in the following way:
Road Signs: 85%
Consumer Products: 7%
Temperatures: 7%
Industrial, Construction, Manufacturing, Engineering, Architecture, etc.: 1%
If road signs were converted, it would tip the scales and everything else
that matters would, eventually but surely, fall into place. For example,
I'm trying to get NY Times science reporters to not convert NASAs metric
distances to US measures. Would they even think about doing that were the
road signs in metric? Would USGS keep showing elevations and distances in
feet and miles? Road signs are the cornerstone of US traditional measures
in this country, and if we knock that out, we win the war.
On the other hand, would anyone who's not an aviation engineer even know
what units Boeing uses to specify parts? If everything the public saw was
metric, would or should the public even care? (Yes, there may be a business
case for one way or the other, but a lot of business decisions are dealt
with out of public view, as this one should be, as far as I'm concerned).
To me our cause for hope is this: Provided a clause can be slipped into
some bill negating the ban on using public funds for metric signs, the whole
battle (i.e., road signs, and the full conversion it would engender) can be
won through the actions of one enlightened President, who could simply
direct the DOT to change the signs (here we can blame Ford and Carter). All
Congress would need to do is decline to block such an action.
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Pierre Abbat" <[email protected]>
Sent: 01/12/2009 9:39 PM
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:42328] Re: Change-over period to the metric system & the
aviation industry.
On Monday 12 January 2009 15:58:06 Bill Hooper wrote:
Some things would take longer because of durable goods that it are too
expensive just to throw out because it is not metric; think "my
house". You're not going to tear down your house that was built to
olde English standards just because you can only get metric sized
sheets of wallboard or plywood. Manufacturers will need to make, and
suppliers will need to sell, some olde English sizes of building
materials for some years so that old, pre-metric homes can be kept in
good repair. The critical part of this is to persuade the builders and
suppliers of NEW construction to begin using metric sizes.
Another example, which I thought about during my hydrology class, is storm
sewer drainpipes. I think the correct solution for that is to designate
one
pipe company (there are few) to make only Renard number sized pipes in
metric, require all new pipe runs to be done in such sizes, and let the
other
companies metricate when they decide to. Existing pipe runs may be
repaired
with inch-sized pipes.
Pierre
