Good letter Paul! I sent the following comment to TIME Magazine: "Place metric units *first* not second!" Gene.
---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 11:01:15 -0600 >From: "Paul Trusten" <[email protected]> >Subject: [USMA:46561] metric system legally gets preference in U.S. >To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > > Mr. Rick Stengel, Managing Editor > TIME Magazine > > Dear Mr. Stengel, > > The U.S. Metric Association congratulates TIME for > advancing the use of the metric system in the U.S.! > > According to a post at > http://gawker.com/272475/time-switches-to-the-metric-system, > you have issued a memo to your writers and editors > that both metric and U.S. customary units be cited > in values of distance, weight, volume, and > temperature in the general text of your magazine. > But, the purported memo goes on to state that the > U.S. units be cited first, followed by the metric > units. > > Such a preference is contrary to a 1988 amendment to > the Metric Conversion Act of 1975, which declares > the metric system to be the preferred system of > measurement for U.S. trade and commerce. Isn't it > "TIME" for American magazines to comply with this > Congressional declaration? We urge you to place the > metric units first, according to their legally > preferred status in the U.S. Following U.S. law > would also make cited measurements easier to follow > for your international readers, almost all of whom > use the metric system exclusively in their daily > lives. > > Sincerely, > > > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > Public Relations Director > U.S. Metric Association, Inc. > www.metric.org > www.twitter.com/usmetric > [email protected] > +1(432)528-7724 > > > > > >
