On 2009/08/29, at 02:53 , James R. Frysinger wrote:
I can see a benefit to a few years of permissible metric-only
labeling in the marketplace, but essentially it's going to take a
federal mandate (a fiat!) to metricate the U.S., rather like what
Australia did. (But NO MORE millimeter v. centimeter postings on
this thread -- please! -- go get your own thread.)
Dear Jim and All,
1 Mandate or fiat
If there was a mandate or fiat for metrication in Australia, we didn't
notice. What we saw was a carefully planned and co-ordinated program
where industries chose how they would upgrade to the metric system.
This followed an act of parliament, in 1970, that did little more than
set up the Metric Conversion Board (See http://152.91.38.99/cgi-bin/download.pl?/scale/data/histact/4/2233
to obtain a copy). Essentially metrication was done on an industry
by industry basis without much government involvement, mainly guidance
and research from members of the Metric Conversion Board. I recall
that there were extensive opportunities for anyone to be involved who
was able, and wanted, to contribute to the metrication process. Some
of these industry initiatives were highly successful, quick, and soon
had direct benefits in terms of the economies of these successful
industries; others were not so successful and are still struggling in
2009 with a long, drawn-out, bitterly fought, and very expensive
metric conversion process.
2 (un-named to preserve your sensitivity)
From my careful observation over many years (since the late 1960s),
an obvious difference between successful and unsuccessful metrication
transitions is the choice of a small length unit (un-named here).
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, that you can obtain
from http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has
helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the
modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they
now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for
their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many
different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial
and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST,
and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com
for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected]
or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
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