The worst part was he talked as if someone else was responsible for working for the FPLA update. I know the Food Marketing Institute seems to be scaring Congressmen and Senators, and probably Cabinent Officers as well, but do they have that much power that they can bully the President's advisors?
Mark
Rockford, Il 61101
2013 06 10
Dr. Patrick Gallagher
100 Bureau Drive
Stop 1000
Gaithersburg, MD
20899-1000
Dear Dr. Gallagher:
Words cannot express how disappointed I am in seeing your response to the Metric Petition posted on the White House Website. You seem to act as if the Administration is something you have no control over. But you are the government, and millions of Americans are begging you to finally get moving on American metrication.
I remember back in 1971 when Maurice Stans, the Secretary of Commerce under Richard Nixon published a ten volume study of the impact of metrication on the United States. That study was called "A Metric America, A Decision Whose Time Has Come."
Every administration since Richard Nixon has done something to help the United States adopt the SI measuring system. Gerald Ford signed the Metric Conversion Act, Jimmy Carter supported the Metric Conversion Board, Ronald Reagan supported the Trade Act, George H. W. Bush issued Executive Order 12770, Bill Clinton supported the Goals 2000 Act and the dual labeling provisions of the FPLA, and even George W. Bush funded out reach by the Metric Programs office, now the Laws and Metric Group under NIST (US Department of Commerce).
Metrication has worked where firm and consistent leadership has been shown. Do we vote on Latitude or Longitude? No, those are set by international agreement. Do we vote on time zones? Can I choose to be in the Mountain or Pacific time zone? No, Americans never voted on time zones, nor did they ever vote on days of the week or date of the calendar. One day is March 1 because the government declares it to be March 1 and not January 59 or February 30. These standards are set by the government, and are not voluntary.
Imagine the havoc if symphony orchestras decided to be voluntary. The Chicago Symphony might choose concert "A" to be 440 Hertz, but the Berlin Symphony might choose concert "A" to be 420 Hertz and the London Symphony might choose it to be 460 Hertz. Poor Beethoven would no longer be universal.
We can complain that our students do very poorly in math and science, or we can do something about it. The easiest thing to do about it is to get serious about showing leadership for metrication. You can do this. Please make the FPLA update a priority and ask President Obama to push this towards the front burner. It has been 40 years, it is high time we finally get metric-only package labeling legalized in the USA.
Mark Henschel
----- Original Message -----
From: Edward Schlesinger <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, June 8, 2013 4:09 pm
Subject: [USMA:52901] My reply to Mr. Gallagher.
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
>
Here is a copy of my response to "Supporting American Choices on Measurement".
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
8/Jun/13
>
>
>
>
Patrick D. Gallagher
>
>
100
> Bureau Drive, Stop 1000
>
>
Gaithersburg,
> MD 20899-1000
>
>
>
>
Mr. Gallagher:
>
>
>
>
I am writing in response to the
> petition I signed on We the People. These are my thoughts on “Supporting
> American Choices on Measurement.”
>
>
>
>
Your response sidesteps an
> important issue that the United States lacks in trade, education, and sciences
> since we as a nation have not fully converted to the International System of
> Units since the 1970s.
>
>
>
>
If you state we are
> bilingual as a country, inferring that most citizens of the United States have
> the same proficiency with USC and SI units, this statement is false. Students
> are particularly confused especially if they don’t go to college where the
> metric system is an integral part of the sciences. One day, while I was at the
> grocery store, I saw a group of high school students whose assignment was to
> bake a cake using metric units. I overheard them discussing what container of
> milk to buy to have 6 cups of milk but they didn’t know what that was in
> metric. I pointed out to them that for liquid measures; there are 250 mL in a
> cup. After making that calculation, they asked me how many milliliters are in a
> liter. If they knew the metric system, would they have to ask that?
>
>
>
>
I know that since the 1890s U.S.
> customary units are all defined in terms of their
> metric equivalents. However, dual labeling does not help consumers or industry
> become familiar with using metric units. My observation has been consumers
> ignore metric units and figure price per oz. I understand that most consumers
> do not comprehend gram weight on the nutritional value label even though
> something as common as the one-cent piece is weighed in grams.
>
>
>
>
The many
> countries that mandate the use of the metric system by law have had an easier
> transition than the U.S. and our voluntary system. South Africa and Australia
> come to mind as examples where the government put resources into education and
> manufacturing for a quick and smooth transition. How much money is wasted in
> building cost because the trades have not transitioned to metric? Successful
> use of a system of weights and measures is an all-or-nothing proposition. The
> so-called “choice” we have in this country, is holding us back and making us
> out of step with most other nations. It simply will not work in any meaningful
> way if I use customary units outside my home and metric in my home.
>
>
>
>
Sincerely,
>
>
>
>
Edward B. Schlesinger
>
>
>
>
Edward B.
> Schlesinger
>
>
--
> Sincerely,
> Edward B.
>
>
>
